U.S. stocks pared early gains on Thursday, with the S&P 500 hitting a session low, after hopes of a trade deal were dented by White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow's comment that Washington may move ahead with more tariffs on Chinese goods.

There were no preconditions set ahead of any trade talks with China, Kudlow said, ahead of President Donald Trump's meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, this weekend.

Markets rose earlier in the session after South China Morning Post reported that the two sides were laying out an agreement that would help avert the next round of tariffs on an additional $300 billion of Chinese imports.

At 11:37 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 39.14 points, or 0.15%, at 26,497.68 and the S&P 500 was up 5.97 points, or 0.20%, at 2,919.75. The Nasdaq Composite was up 27.92 points, or 0.35%, at 7,937.89.

Source : Reuters