NEW YORK (AP) — Conciliatory remarks on trade from China's leader helped put investors in a buying mood and stocks were rising sharply on Wall Street at midday.

The Dow Jones industrial average climbed as much as 500 points today.

Automakers and technology stocks moved higher after President Xi Jinping said he would cut China's auto tariffs and improve intellectual property protection.

Tesla jumped 4.7 percent and Cisco Systems gained 2.8 percent.

Investors were looking ahead to testimony before Congress by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

The S&P 500 increased 39 points, or 1.5 percent, to 2,653.

The Dow was up 441 points, or 1.8 percent, to 24,431. The Nasdaq added 112 points, or 1.6 percent, to 7,063.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.80 percent.