Stocks closed solidly higher on Wall Street as traders became more hopeful that some of the U.S.'s frictions with its trading partners will ease.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Wednesday that Washington is getting closer to lifting tariffs on steel and aluminum from Canada and Mexico. Mnuchin also said he would travel soon to Beijing to resume trade talks.

On Wednesday:

The S&P 500 index gained 16.55 points, or 0.6%, to 2,850.96.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 115.97 points, or 0.5%, to 25,648.02.

The Nasdaq composite added 87.65 points, or 1.1%, to 7,822.15.

The Russell 2000 index of small-company stocks picked up 5.21 points, or 0.3%, to 1,548.27.

For the week:

The S&P 500 is down 30.44 points, or 1.1%.

The Dow is down 294.35 points, or 1.1%.

The Nasdaq is down 94.79 points, or 1.2%.

The Russell 2000 is down 24.72 points, or 1.6%.

For the year:

The S&P 500 is up 344.11 points, or 13.7%.

The Dow is up 2,320.56 points, or 9.9%.

The Nasdaq is up 1,186.87 points, or 17.9%.

The Russell 2000 is up 199.71 points, or 14.8%.