Wall Street opens sharply higher boosted by financial and energy shares

• Energy Index gains more than 1% on Thursday.
• US and China have reportedly agreed to roll back tariffs.
• Defensive sectors stay in the red after the opening bell.

Wall Street's main indexes started the day decisively higher on Thursday as investors reacted to latest positive headlines surrounding the United States (US) - China trade conflict. As of writing, The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.7% on the day while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite were adding 0.55% and 0.65%, respectively.

Earlier in the day, China's Commerce Ministry said that the US and China have agreed to cancel existing tariffs in different phases. "If China and the US reach phase one trade deal, both sides must cancel existing tariffs at the same time, in the same proportion based on agreement," the ministry said in a statement.

With the upbeat market mood providing a boost to crude oil prices, the Energy Index is up 1.25 on the day to lead the rally. Additionally, rising Treasury bond yields seems to be supporting the Financials Index, which was last seen gaining 0.9%.

On the other hand, the defensive Utilities and Real Estate indexes are down 0.65% and 0.85%, respectively, to reaffirm the positive risk sentiment.