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The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher opening on Monday, with positive developments on the trade front generating buying interest.
The upward momentum on Wall Street comes after President Donald Trump announced he intends to postpone a planned increase in U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports.
Trump said the decision to delay the tariff increase reflected ?substantial progress? in the ongoing trade talks between the U.S. and China.
The president said the U.S. and China have made progress on ?important structural issues including intellectual property protection, technology transfer, agriculture, services, currency, and many other issues.?
Assuming additional progress is made, Trump said he will be planning to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping to conclude an agreement.
Trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, as traders look ahead to the second summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
?With complete Denuclearization, North Korea will rapidly become an Economic Powerhouse,? Trump said on Twitter ahead of the summit. ?Without it, just more of the same. Chairman Kim will make a wise decision!
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell?s testimony before Congress in the coming days may also keep some traders on the sidelines.
Stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Friday, more than offsetting the moderate weakness seen on Thursday. With the upward move, the major averages reached their best closing levels in over three months.
The major averages fluctuated late in the session but ended the day firmly positive. The Dow climbed 181.18 points or 0.7 percent to 26,031.81, the Nasdaq jumped 67.84 points or 0.9 percent to 7,527.54 and the S&P 500 rose 17.79 points or 0.6 percent to 2,792.67.
For the holiday-shortened week, the Nasdaq advanced by 0.7 percent, while the Dow and the S&P 500 both climbed by 0.6 percent.
The strength on Wall Street came as traders continued to express optimism about ongoing trade talks between the U.S. and China.
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin revealed later in the day that Chinese negotiators will extend their visit to Washington in an effort to build on the progress made during this week's talks.
Mnuchin told reporters a meeting between Trump and Xi reportedly under discussion for next month may depend on the outcome of the next few days of negotiations.
Meanwhile, Trump said during a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Liu that U.S. and Chinese officials are making "a lot of progress" in the trade talks.
Trump said there was a "very good chance" the U.S. and China could reach a long-term trade deal but at the same time said "who knows" whether a final agreement will be struck.
A report from CNBC said China has committed to buying up to $1.2 trillion worth U.S. goods, although sources said the two sides remain far apart on issues concerning the forced transfer of intellectual property.
Trading activity was somewhat subdued, however, with a lack of major U.S. economic data keeping some traders on the sidelines.
A batch of disappointing U.S. economic data weighed on the markets on Thursday, although trade talk optimism helped limit the downside.
Tobacco stocks saw considerable strength on the day, extending the strong upward move seen in recent sessions. The NYSE Arca Tobacco Index surged up by 2.6 percent to its best closing level in well over three months.
Significant strength was also visible among computer hardware and networking stocks, with the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware and NYSE Arca Networking Index jumping by 2 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively.
Reflecting optimism about increased Chinese demand, steel stocks also turned in a strong performance, driving the NYSE Arca Steel Index up by 1.4 percent.
Biotechnology, software, and housing stocks also moved notably higher, while telecom stocks bucked the uptrend by the broader markets.
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The Commerce Department is scheduled to release its report on wholesale inventories in the month of December at 10 am ET. Wholesale inventories are expected to rise by 0.2 percent.
At 11:30 am ET, the Treasury Department is due to announce the results of its auction of $40 billion worth of two-year notes.
The Treasury is also scheduled to announce the results of its auction of $41 billion worth of five-year notes at 1 pm ET.
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Shares of General Electric (GE) are moving sharply higher in pre-market trading after the conglomerate agreed to sell its BioPharma business to Danaher Corporation (DHR) for a total consideration of $21.4 billion.
Biotechnology company Spark Therapeutics (ONCE) is also seeing substantial pre-market strength after agreeing be acquired by Switzerland's Roche for $4.3 billion or $114.50 per share in cash.
Shares of Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH) may also move to the upside after Macquarie upgraded its rating on the company?s stock to Outperform from Neutral. |
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European stocks have risen on Monday after Trump delayed imposing higher trade tariffs on Chinese tariffs, citing progress on a series of divisive trade issues, including intellectual property protection, technology transfers, agriculture, services and currency.
The overall gains remain limited, however, as investors adopt a cautious stance ahead of the summit between Trump and Kim.
The French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.3 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 0.6 percent, although the U.K.?s FTSE 100 Index has bucked the uptrend and edged down by 0.1 percent.
Automakers are broadly higher as tariff worries eased. BMW, Daimler and Renault have all moved to the upside on the day.
Sainsbury shares have also moved higher in London. American private equity giant KKR is plotting a bid for Asda as the supermarket's 14 billion pound merger with rival Sainsbury teeters on the brink of collapse, The Sunday Times reported.
Wirecard has also advanced after the company said it now offers customers of Twisto, a Czech mobile payment provider, Apple Pay as a means of payment.
On the other hand, Bank of Ireland has fallen sharply after warning on interest margin. Outsourcing firm Interserve has also tumbled on restructuring news.
British homebuilder Persimmon has also slumped as a review of the public funding scheme comes due.
Additionally, gold mining company Centamin has plummeted after its fourth quarter profit before tax declined to $50.49 million from last year's $77.35 million.
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Asian stocks rose broadly on Monday, with Chinese markets leading regional gains after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would delay the deadline for additional tariffs on Chinese goods set to begin on March 1.
Citing substantial progress in trade talks, Trump also indicated he plans to meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to reach a final deal.
Gains outside China were limited as investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of the second summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Chinese shares soared as investors cheered the U.S. decision to extend the deadline for the tariff hike. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index jumped 157.06 points or 5.6 percent to 2,961.28 to enter a bull market, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 143.00 points or 0.5 percent to 28,959.30.
Japanese shares advanced after snapping a four-session winning streak to end lower on Friday. The Nikkei 225 Index rose 102.72 points or 0.5 percent to 21,528.23, reaching a ten-week high as investors monitored ongoing U.S.-China trade talks. The broader Topix closed 0.7 percent higher at 1,620.87.
Exporters Canon, Honda Motor, Panasonic and Sony advanced around 1 percent. Companies with exposure to China surged, with Keyence Corp surging up 4.3 percent and Yaskawa Electric jumping 2.7 percent. Nintendo gained 1 percent on share buyback news.
Australian markets rose after Trump said on Sunday he would extend a deadline to raise tariffs on Chinese imports and looked forward to a meeting with Xi to seal a deal. Upbeat earnings also offered some support.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 19.00 points or 0.3 percent to finish at 6,186.30, while the broader All Ordinaries Index ended up 21.70 points or 0.4 percent at 6,263.60.
Mining stocks surged as renewed optimism on trade helped lift commodity prices, with copper hitting its highest level since last July.
BHP and Fortescue Metals Group climbed 1-2 percent and BlueScope Steel soared 6.3 percent after reporting a 42 percent jump in first-half profits on a double-digit increase in revenue and a weaker Australian dollar.
Brambles rallied 2.9 percent after it agreed to sell its reusable plastic container business. QBE Insurance jumped 4.2 percent as it swung back into the black on significantly reduced catastrophe claims.
On the other hand, Origin Energy lost 2.9 percent after the company said it would suffer a A$44 million hit to pre-tax earnings from proposed reforms to reduce the cost of energy for consumers.
Boral dropped 1.2 percent, oOh!Media plunged 8.6 percent and Lendlease Group slumped 6.4 percent on disappointing earnings.
Seoul stocks ended largely unchanged as investors looked ahead to the upcoming summit between the United States and North Korea slated for later this week.
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Crude oil futures are tumbling $1.33 to $55.93 a barrel after rising $0.30 to $57.26 a barrel last Friday. Meanwhile, an ounce of gold is trading at $1,331.60, down $1.20 from the previous session?s close of $1,332.80. On Friday, gold climbed $5.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 110.82 yen compared to the 110.69 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Friday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1351 compared to last Friday?s $1.1335. |
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