US stocks ease from tops despite signs of easing trade tensions

Major US equity indices opened higher on Wednesday as market participants tracked trade developments between the US and its key global partners.

Trade tensions cooled off a bit after the US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin reportedly proposed to exempt Canada from metals tariffs and China offered to buy around $70 billion of the US goods.

The upbeat mood was further supported by a rally in technology and health-care stocks, with tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index notching fresh intraday record high for the third straight session.

On the economic data front, the US trade deficit shrank 2.1% in April, tumbling to a seven month low, and added to the already positive trading sentiment during the opening hour of trade.

The up-move, however, now seems to have already run out of steam, with all the three major indices quickly shedding off a major part of their early gains. 

At the time of writing this report, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up around 70-points to 24,870 and the broader S&P 500 Index held near yesterday's closing level around 2,749.