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The Breakfast Briefing: Global Stocks Edge Up as Trump Signals Trade Progress
FYI: Global stocks made modest gains Friday after President Trump struck an upbeat tone about the continuing U.S.-China trade talks but failed to set a date for a final summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
European gains were muted, with the pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 inching 0.1% higher in the opening minutes of trading. Gains were led by the index’s basic resources sector which climbed 0.7%. Those gains however were balanced by a 0.5% decline for the index’s real-estate sector.
Markets in Asia turned in a more mixed performance, with a number of major indexes closed for holidays. Japan’s Nikkei climbed 0.3%, lifted by gains for Sony and Nintendo and a softer yen, while Australia’s ASX 200 dropped 0.8%. Stock markets in Hong Kong, mainland China and Taiwan were closed.
In the U.S., futures pointed to opening rises of 0.2% for both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500.
Germany’s DAX index lagged behind its counterparts in Paris and London as positive data on the nation’s industrial production failed to allay investors’ concerns about country’s economy. The index was flat while the U.K’s FTSE 100 and France’s CAC 40 made gains of 0.1%.
Separate figures released Thursday showed orders for Germany’s manufacturing sector slumped 4.2% in February, increasing the likelihood that Europe’s flagship economy could contract in the first half of 2019.
Investors were awaiting data due Friday on the state of the U.S. labor market. Concerns about signs of slowing growth across the world have weighed on investors this year, with data from China and Europe pointing to slowdowns and increasing the focus on U.S. economic data. Regards, Ted
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https://finance.yahoo.com/news/march-us-jobs-report-morning-brief-101955875.html