FYI: U.S. stock index futures were sharply higher Thursday morning, after China confirmed it planned to hold trade talks with the U.S. in early October.
At around 04:30 a.m. ET, Dow futures rose 201 points, indicating a positive open of more than 209 points. Futures on the S&P and Nasdaq were both higher.
• U.S., China to meet in October
• European and Asian stocks up
• U.S. non-manufacturing data due later
Global stocks gained on hopes for trade progress after the U.S. and China said they would meet in October to hold talks in Washington.
The two countries said deputy-level officials would work together in mid-September to lay the groundwork for the meeting, which comes after the world’s two largest economies have moved to impose tariffs on each other. Beijing said it hopes for “substantive progress” during talks next month.
Asian stocks soared on the prospect of fresh negotiations, as well as hopes for monetary easing in China. Stocks in Japan and South Korea, both of whose economies have been sensitive to the trade dispute, shot higher, with the Nikkei 225 up 2.1% and the Kospi up 0.8%. The Shanghai Composite rose 1%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was flat, holding on to the previous day’s gains that came after the city’s leader withdrew the extradition bill that had caused months of unrest.
China’s state media, citing Wednesday remarks from a meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang, said the government plans to use monetary policy, including cuts to banks’ reserve requirement ratios, to stimulate the economy and support small enterprises.
Stocks in Europe posted milder gains, with the Stoxx Europe 600 up 0.5%. The German DAX and the France CAC 40 both rose 0.8%
The U.S. is in the middle of introducing 15% levies on about $270 billion worth of mostly consumer items from China. It also plans to raise tariffs on largely nonconsumer items—materials businesses use to produce goods—to 30% from 25%.
China has retaliated, hitting items such as American soybeans and some U.S. auto parts with higher punitive tariffs of 30% and 35%. It is also letting the Chinese yuan depreciate to help mitigate the impact of the levies.
Major U.S. retailers including Target Corp. , Walmart Inc., Dollar Tree Inc. and other retailers that are large importers of Chinese goods have been affected by the tariffs.
In bonds, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 1.503% from 1.456% Wednesday afternoon. The 10-year German bund yield also crept higher despite weaker-than-expected manufacturing orders data released for July. The data is likely to reinforce expectations for stimulus measures to be announced by the European Central Bank next week. The 10-year bund yield was trading at minus 0.647%, up from minus 0.670% on Wednesday.
Later Thursday, figures for the number of Americans applying for first-time unemployment benefits will be released, as will August numbers for the ISM non-manufacturing index, which shows business conditions in the U.S. non-manufacturing sector.
Regards,
Ted
MarketWatch:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/dow-futures-rally-more-than-200-points-as-china-us-trade-talks-set-for-early-october-2019-09-05/printWSJ:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/global-stocks-rally-on-new-trade-talks-11567670077Bloomberg:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-04/stocks-in-asia-seen-opening-higher-dollar-slides-markets-wrap?srnd=premiumIBD:
https://www.investors.com/market-trend/stock-market-today/dow-jones-futures-china-trade-talks-stock-market-rally/CNBC::
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/05/dow-futures-jump-as-china-and-us-agree-to-meet-for-trade-talks.htmlReuters:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-steel/u-s-imposes-duties-on-structural-steel-from-china-mexico-idUSKCN1VP2R7U.K.
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/stocks-trading-ex-dividend-knock-ftse-100-lower-industrials-rise-idUKKCN1VQ0T4Europe:
https://www.reuters.com/article/europe-stocks/update-1-european-stocks-hit-one-month-highs-on-trade-optimism-idUSL3N25W1VUAsia:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-gain-as-us-and-china-agree-to-new-trade-talks-2019-09-04/printBonds:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/05/us-bonds-treasury-yields-higher-after-us-china-trade-talk-boosts-sentiment.htmlCurrencies:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/05/forex-markets-brexit-geopolitics-in-focus.htmlOil;
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/05/oil-markets-us-crude-stockpiles-in-focus.htmlGold:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/05/gold-markets-us-china-trade-talks-in-focus.htmlCuirrent Futures:
https://finviz.com/futures.ashx 
