Wall Street rises on Trump's China tariff remarks

Wall Street's main indexes inched higher in choppy trading on Friday after US President Donald Trump confirmed his meeting with Chinese counterpart in two weeks, while worries over credit risks at regional banks kept investors on edge.

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Bank stocks faced selling pressure earlier in the day, extending declines from the previous session when Zions Bancorporation disclosed losses tied to two commercial and industrial loans and Western Alliance revealed it had initiated a lawsuit alleging fraud by Cantor Group V, LLC.

The selloff rekindled concerns over lax lending standards in a sector already grappling with two auto bankruptcies, more than two years after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.

Most regional bank stocks, however, stabilized on Friday. The KBW regional banks index rose 1.2%, rebounding from Thursday's drop of 6.3%, its biggest since early April.

The broader S&P financial indexedged up O.68.

"They were possibly oversold yesterday and we're now getting positive earnings from these regional banks that confirm the earnings growth that we saw with the larger global banks. I think that is helping to buoy investor optimism," said Sam Stovall chief investment strategist at CFRA Research.

Truist Financial shares gained 3.68 after the bank reported higher third-quarter profit. Fifth Third Bancorp rose 38.

Zions shares rose 6.48, while Western Alliance advanced 48.