The markets closed out a positive month higher on news that China and the US are having conversations about the trade war and how to make progress. News is that the conversations are productive, which helped investors jump back into stocks. The Dow 30 was higher by 108, the S&P 500 added 13, and the Nasdaq 100 gained 41.

The trade news helped stocks that have been sensitive to the trade tug-of-war, like Caterpillar (CAT  ), which reversed course today with a 3% gain. Boeing (BA  ) added 1.5% on the day as well.

Earnings helped stocks this month as over 80% of companies have reported better-than-expected results. It's still early, as only 58% of the S&P 500 has reported. Analysts are expecting 20% earnings growth for the quarter and so far stocks have not disappointed.

Stock News:

Chipotle (CMG  ) shares suffered a sharp loss today as it was announced that the company had to close a store in Ohio after nearly 100 people fell ill from food borne illness. This is just another story of quality issues that still have to be worked out. Jefferies actually upgraded the stock today saying that the company is positioned for strong earnings growth.

Twitter (TWTR  ) shares were higher by 2% today as Nomura upgraded the stock. The analyst said that expectations have been appropriately reset and pricing is where it should be, now making it an attractive buy.

Procter & Gamble (PG  ) shares were higher by today as the company reported stronger earnings than anticipated. The company reported organic sales growth that was weaker than expected, which capped performance, and negatively impacted the performance of the consumer staples sector as a whole (XLP  ), since PG comprises 12% of that market.