US STOCKS-Wall Street set for weekly gains on trade deal, weak data curbs enthusiasm

By Pranav Kashyap and Shashwat Chauhan

May 16 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were on track for weekly gains on Friday, buoyed by a U.S.-China tariff truce, though soft consumer sentiment data on the day kept risk-taking in check.

Stocks briefly came off their highs after the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers said its Consumer Sentiment Index slumped further in May while one-year inflation expectations surged to 7.3% from 6.5% last month.

"Some of the market movements today reflected that the market has been a little bit torn between this desire for relief and the reality," said Julia Hermann, global markets strategist at New York Life Investments.

At 11:48 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 15.26 points, or 0.04%, to 42,338.01, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 9.73 points, or 0.17%, to 5,926.74 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC gained 23.68 points, or 0.12%, to 19,135.99.

All three main indexes were poised for weekly gains and the S&P 500 was set for a fifth consecutive single-day gain.

U.S. equities found their footing earlier in the week, rallying on Monday and Tuesday after Washington and Beijing agreed to a 90-day pause in their escalating trade war.

As a result, the S&P 500 .SPX catapulted back into the green year-to-date – the first time it is in positive territory since late February. Still, the benchmark index remains about 4% shy of its all-time peak.

"The market is currently leaning toward the optimistic side of things on the idea that lower tariffs might be able to support higher economic growth. However, what I see here is an opportunity for investors to use this relief to prepare for the next leg of reality," said Hermann.

Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer had announced a limited bilateral trade agreement last week.

Focus would also be on comments from Federal Reserve policymakers, with at least two officials including Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin slated to speak throughout the day.

House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington cautioned that Friday's planned vote on the tax bill might be delayed due to opposition to the measure.

Megacap and growth stocks were mixed, with Alphabet GOOGL.O advancing more than 1%, while Meta Platforms META.O dipped in excess of 1%.

Big Tech was one of the biggest drivers on Wall Street this week, with the information technology sector .SPLRCT heading towards a more than 7% gain.

Applied Materials AMAT.O slipped 6% after the chipmaking equipment maker missed estimates for second-quarter revenue.

Charter Communications CHTR.O was off session highs, but still up about 1% after the media company said it would buy privately held rival Cox Communications for $21.9 billion.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.49-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.35-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 19 new 52-week highs and no new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 50 new highs and 56 new lows.