The possibility of negotiations to avert a potential trade war with China boosted the markets to a sharply higher close with the Dow surging 240 points to 24,505. Nasdaq gained 34 points to 7076.

On the upside

Shares of Intelsat (NYSE: I) advanced for the third day in a row.

Morgan Stanley issued a positive note on ADT (NYSE: ADT).

Jefferies upgraded Weatherford International (NYSE: WFT) from an Underperform rating to a Hold rating.

On the downside

Conatus Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: CNAT) reported disappointing results from a Phase 2b POLT-HCV-SVR clinical trial in liver transplant patients with fibrosis or cirrhosis.

Conn's (Nasdaq: CONN) disappointed with lower fourth quarter revenue that fell short of expectations and warned of lower same store sales for the current quarter.

A judge may reject a plea agreement made by Och-Ziff Capital Management (NYSE: OZM) in a bribery case.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 5 to 2 on the NYSE and by more than 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 rose 18 points to 2,662. Bitcoin dropped $89 to $6,731.