Early gains on Wall Street add to strong start to the year

Stocks are opening slightly higher on Wall Street, building on the big gains from a day earlier that sent major indexes to their latest record highs. Technology companies and banks led the way higher Friday. Google parent company Alphabet rose again, a day after becoming the latest tech giant to cross the $1 trillion valuation mark, joining Apple and Microsoft. The S&P 500 rose 4 points, or 0.1%, to 3,321. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 19 points, or 0.1%, to 29,319. The Nasdaq rose 23 points, or 0.3%, to 9,380. Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 1.84%.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

Global stocks rose Friday, seemingly buoyed by high spirits on Wall Street, as new data suggested China's economic slowdown may have stabilized and Washington and Beijing signed a trade deal.

European indexes were broadly higher, while markets in Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong closed with gains, after the U.S.'s S&P 500 hit a new high the day before. Tech shares in particular did well, with Google parent Alphabet passing $1 trillion in market value, joining Amazon, Apple and Microsoft in the $1 trillion club.

China's economic growth of 6.1% last year was the lowest since 1990 but forecasters pointed to improved activity in December. They said Wednesday's signing of a truce in the war over Beijing's technology ambitions and trade surplus might help to revive consumer and business confidence.

Investors are “finding inspiration” from the Wall Street rally while they try to figure out “where to from here” in U.S.-Chinese trade relations, said Jingyi Pan of IG in a report.

“The market sentiment looks to have only improved into the end of the week,” said Pan.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 added 1% to 7,687...