FYI: • Asian stocks slip
• Crude prices decline
• U.S. Treasury yields tick lower
U.S. stock index futures higher Wednesday morning, amid simmering trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
U.S. shares gained overnight after President Donald Trump downplayed worries of a lengthy trade war and senior adviser Larry Kudlow said Trump's administration is planning to host a Chinese delegation for talks in September. Wall Street futures gauges also rose.
European stocks climbed Wednesday following a downbeat session in Asia, as worries over U.S.-China trade tensions lingered in markets.
The Stoxx Europe 600 was up 0.7% after the opening bell, with gains led by the technology and chemicals sectors.
ABN AMRO Bank ABN -3.32% and UniCredit were both down by around 3.2%, following the release of second-quarter earning reports. ABN AMRO Bank warned of pressure on its margins from low interest rates, and UniCredit cut its revenue guidance for the year.
In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index and Japan’s Nikkei both declined around 0.3% and Korea’s Kospi dropped 0.4%.
The moves came a day after U.S. stocks regained some ground from recent heavy losses, as China backed away from a further escalation in the trade row and the yuan stabilized.
lsewhere, the New Zealand dollar fell by 1.6% against the U.S. dollar after its central bank unexpectedly cut interest rates beyond economists’ forecasts. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand lowered its official cash rate by 50 basis points and signaled it could soon adopt unorthodox policy amid a deteriorating global-growth outlook.
The move hit the Australian dollar, where bets on lower interest rates in September jumped higher. It also sparked talk of a “race to the bottom” in interest rates, said Neil Wilson, analyst at Markets.com.
The WSJ Dollar Index, which measures the U.S. currency against a basket of its peers, was up 0.1%.
The yield on 10-year Treasurys fell to 1.678% on Wednesday, from 1.740% on Tuesday, when it hit its second-lowest level in 2019. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
In commodities, the global oil benchmark Brent crude was down by 0.2% to $58.84 a barrel, as investors anticipated weaker demand during a period of global economic uncertainty. Gold gained 1%.
Regards,
Ted
MarketWatch:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/dow-looks-to-extend-gains-as-global-central-banks-ease-monetary-policy-2019-08-07/printWSJ:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/european-stocks-rise-while-gloom-lingers-in-asia-11565164273Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-08-06/asia-stocks-to-start-mixed-u-s-shares-climb-markets-wrapIBD:
https://www.investors.com/market-trend/stock-market-today/dow-jones-futures-disney-stock-market-rally-match-group/CNBC:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/07/stock-markets-wall-street-in-focus-amid-lingering-trade-war-concerns.htmlReuters:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-dollar-china/u-s-dollar-when-will-bulls-turn-to-bears-idUKKCN1UX0AFU.K.
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/ftse-breaks-six-day-losing-streak-though-earnings-disappoint-idUKKCN1UX0OIEurope:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-stocks/german-chemical-deal-lifts-european-shares-ftse-lags-idUSKCN1UX0OKAsia:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-mixed-after-china-moves-to-stabilize-yuan-2019-08-06/printBonds:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/07/us-treasury-bonds-china-sets-the-yuan-below-expectations.htmlCurrencies:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/07/forex-markets-japanese-yen-us-china-trade-in-focus.htmlOil:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/07/oil-markets-us-china-trade-in-focus.htmlGold:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/07/gold-markets-us-china-trade-in-focus.htmlCuirrent Futures:
https://finviz.com/futures.ashx 
Comments
-- S&P futures are 1% lower as of 9:05 AM.
-- Currency war heated up overnight in asia.
-- Partially in response, 10-year’s around 1.63% this morning.
-- Gold’s up. But most commodities down.
-- Treacherous markets. Grab an umbrella.
Regards,
Ted
Damned algorithms!