Caterpillar Climbs on New Optimism for Global Economic Prospects

(Bloomberg) -- Caterpillar Inc. headed for the biggest gain since April as trade tensions eased, improving the sales outlook for the world’s largest maker of construction and mining equipment. Metal producers also rallied.

The U.S. and China announced face-to-face negotiations will be held in the coming weeks aimed at ending a tariff war, while U.S. private payrolls and services sector data tamped down concerns of an approaching recession. Nearly half of the Deerfield, Illinois-based company’s sales are in North America.

Caterpillar climbed 3.5% to $123.26 at 1 p.m. in New York, heading for its biggest gain since April 1. The company was the best performer in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. A Bloomberg Intelligence index of base-metals producers also rose, with Alcoa Corp. and First Quantum Minerals Ltd. among the biggest gainers.

Caterpillar’s stock is still down 2.9% this year amid worries of headwinds the company faces from tariffs. Investors were also spooked by guidance from management in July that the company expects adjusted earnings at the low-end of their range, which analysts say comes as some end-user industries may be reaching peaks in their growth cycles.

In July, the company also maintained optimism about the global economy, with Chief Financial Officer Andrew Bonfield saying underlying demand and sales to end-users remained strong.

To contact the reporter on this story: Joe Deaux in New York at jdeaux@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Luzi Ann Javier at ljavier@bloomberg.net, Steven Frank, Joe Richter

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