FYI: U.S. stock index futures were sharply higher Wednesday morning.
At around 05:20 a.m. ET, Dow futures rose 242 points, indicating a positive open of more than 241 points. Futures on the S&P and Nasdaq were both higher.
The moves in pre-market trade come after a report showed growth in China’s services sector had expanded at its fastest rate in three months in August, despite broader economic headwinds.
• European, Asian stocks rise
• Hong Kong stocks surge
• British pound gains on vote in Parliament
Global stocks powered higher Wednesday, as political developments around the world countered a set of weak economic data.
The biggest rise came in Hong Kong, where stocks jumped amid reports that the city’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam was going to formally withdraw the extradition bill that sparked monthslong demonstrations that have hurt the territory’s economy. The Hang Seng Index rose 3.9% Wednesday, its biggest one-day gain since November.
Other blue-chip indexes in Asia also advanced, with the Shanghai Composite up 0.9%, Korea’s Kospi up 1.2% as Japan’s Nikkei edged up 0.1%.
In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 rose 1% in morning trade, with the German DAX up 1.3% and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 up 0.8%.
Futures on the S&P 500 were up 1% on Wednesday. The contracts don’t necessarily predict moves after the opening bell.
The British pound, which has been hammered in recent sessions over concerns the U.K. could slide out of the European Union without a deal, gained 0.6% against the dollar after Parliament the night before took steps toward preventing a no-deal Brexit.
Haven assets, which climbed after the U.S. manufacturing data, were falling again as investors returned to riskier stocks. Gold prices ticked lower after hitting six-year highs Tuesday. The precious metal declined 0.6% to $1,537.85 a troy ounce. The WSJ dollar index, which tracks the dollar against a basket of other currencies, also fell 0.1%.
The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note ticked up to 1.482% from 1.469% on Tuesday, when it touched a one-year low. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions. Government bonds yields have plumbed record depths across the world this year as investors have bet the U.S.-China trade conflict would hit growth.
Regards,
Ted
WSJ:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/global-stocks-advance-on-politics-central-bank-hopes-11567584492MarketWatch:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/hong-kongs-lam-to-withdraw-extradition-bill-that-triggered-protests-report-says-2019-09-04/printBloomberg:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-03/asia-stocks-to-dip-amid-trade-woes-weak-data-markets-wrap?srnd=premiumCNBC::
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/04/stock-market-wall-street-monitors-us-china-trade-war.htmlU.K.
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/ftse-jumps-on-optimism-over-brexit-hong-kong-unrest-idUKKCN1VP0PBEurope:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-stocks/european-stocks-surge-as-political-nerves-cool-idUSKCN1VP0OZAsia:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-mostly-gain-after-encouraging-data-on-china-services-activity-2019-09-03/printBonds:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/04/us-bonds-treasury-yields-tick-higher-as-investors-await-economic-data.htmlCurrencies:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/04/forex-markets-brexit-in-focus.htmlOil;
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/04/oil-markets-global-economy-in-focus.htmlGold:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/04/gold-markets-global-economy-in-focus.htmlCuirrent Futures:
https://finviz.com/futures.ashx 
