Mumbai, May 19 -- The Dow advanced 331.99 points (0.8%) to 42,654.74, the S&P 500 climbed 41.45 points (0.7%) to 5,958.38 and the Nasdaq rose 98.78 points (0.5%) to 19,211.10.

Uncertainty remains about the US and its trade partners reaching deals that permanently lower tariffs, traders have continued to express optimism. Traders largely shrugged off preliminary data from the University of Michigan showing consumer sentiment in the U.S. has unexpectedly continued to deteriorate in the month of May. It also said it's consumer sentiment index dipped to 50.8 in May after slumping to 52.2 in April. With the unexpected decrease, the consumer sentiment index has fallen to its lowest level since hitting 50 in June 2022. The report also said year...