FYI: U.S. stock index futures were slightly higher Thursday morning.
At around 04:10 a.m. ET, Dow futures rose 21 points, indicating a positive open of more than 29 points. Futures on the S&P and Nasdaq were both marginally higher.
Wall Street ended Wednesday on a higher note after President Trump said that a U.S.-China trade deal could arrive sooner-than-expected. Both countries have engaged on a tit-for-tat tariff war since 2018.
Europe stocks climb, Asia mixed
• Treasury yields slip
• Crude prices up
Global stocks edged higher Thursday on hopes for a U.S.-China trade deal and positive consumer data out of Europe.
China’s Commerce Ministry said Thursday that Chinese companies had agreed to buy “sizable amounts” of soybeans and pork from the U.S. ahead of high-level talks scheduled for next month.
Stocks in the U.S. rose on Wednesday after President Trump voiced optimism about a trade deal with China, though a formal impeachment inquiry by the U.S. House of Representatives clouded the political outlook.
On Thursday, futures on the S&P 500 inched up 0.2%. The contracts don’t necessarily predict moves after the opening bell.
The Stoxx Europe 600 was up 0.7%, with the German DAX 0.6% higher and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 up 1.1%.
Better-than-expected consumer data released Thursday showed that German shoppers remained somewhat resilient in the face of a sharp slowdown in the industrial sector.
In Asia, the Nikkei climbed 0.1% after the U.S. and Japan signed a trade-enhancement agreement which will lower agricultural tariffs in Japan, industrial tariffs in the U.S. and set new rules for digital trade.
Other Asian markets were more mixed, with stocks in Shanghai down 0.9%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng up 0.4% and Korea’s Kospi was flat.
In commodities, global oil benchmark Brent crude gained 0.5%. Gold prices gained 0.2%.
The yield on U.S. 10-year Treasurys slipped to 1.703%, from 1.732% on Wednesday.
Looking ahead, investors were eyeing the coming third reading of U.S. second-quarter gross domestic product and weekly jobless claims.
Regards,
Ted
WSJ:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/global-stocks-tick-higher-on-trade-hopes-11569487120Bloomberg:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-25/asia-stock-futures-rise-on-trade-dollar-climbs-markets-wrapIBD:
https://www.investors.com/market-trend/stock-market-today/dow-jones-futures-apple-nike-stock-market-rally-trump-trade-trumps-impeachment/CNBC::
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/26/dow-futures-lower-ahead-of-jobless-gdp-numbers.htmlU.K.
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/ftse-100-swells-as-trade-hopes-offset-slew-of-profit-alerts-idUKKBN1WB0QWEurope:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-stocks/encouraging-trade-talks-boost-european-shares-idUSKBN1WB0S7Asia:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-japan-trade-deal-sets-positive-tone-for-stocks-in-asia-early-thursday-2019-09-25/printBonds:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/25/treasury-yields-higher-as-trump-faces-impeachment-inquiry.htmlCurrencies:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/26/forex-markets-donald-trump-impeachment-probe-in-focus.htmlOil:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/26/oil-markets-us-china-trade-in-focus.htmlGold:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/25/gold-markets-donald-trump-impeachment-inquiry-in-focus.htmlCuirrent Futures:
https://finviz.com/futures.ashx 
