Stock markets around the world spiked higher Tuesday after Wall Street rebounded amid hopes the U.S. and China are back negotiating over their trade dispute.
KEEPING SCORE: In Europe, Germany’s DAX was up 2 percent to 10,831 while France’s CAC 40 was up 2 percent at 4,837. Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 1.7 percent at 6,834. Wall Street was set to open higher too, with Dow futures and the broader S&P 500 futures up 0.9 percent.
U.S.-CHINA RELATIONS: U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He have spoken by phone about “the promotion of the next economic and trade consultations,” a statement by China’s Commerce Ministry said Tuesday. It did not elaborate. This indicates that the detention of Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, in Canada may not derail trade talks. Meng is wanted in the U.S. for allegedly misleading banks about the company’s business dealings in Iran. China has protested her arrest and a bail hearing for Meng is underway in Vancouver, British Columbia. Still, traders fear a 90-day tariffs cease-fire may not be enough for the countries to resolve deep-seated issues.
ANALYST TAKE: “We’re now seeing daily commentary it seems about the progress of talks between the U.S. and China but the reality is that this is going to be a process that moves at a glacial pace but the fact that talks are happening are a reason to be optimistic,” said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA.
BREXIT AND THE POUND: A day after the pound tanked to 20-month lows against the dollar after British Prime Minister Theresa May pulled a vote on her Brexit deal with the European Union, the currency recovered somewhat after figures showed wages rising at their fastest rate in a decade. The pound was up 0.3 percent at $1.2610.
IPHONE BAN IN CHINA: On Monday, U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm said it won an order in a Chinese court banning sales of some Apple phones in China. This is part of a lengthy dispute over two Qualcomm patents allowing users to format photos and manage phone apps using a touch screen. Although Qualcomm said the ban applies to models of the iPhone 6S through X, Apple said all iPhones will remain available for customers in China. Qualcomm shares jumped 2.2 percent to $57.24 on the news.
ASIA’S DAY: Softer economic data from Japan and China weighed on some Asian indexes on Tuesday. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 0.3 percent to 21,148.02 and South Korea’s Kospi dropped less than 0.1 percent to 2,052.97. But Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged 0.1 percent higher to 25,771.67. The Shanghai Composite rose 0.4 percent to 2,594.09.
ENERGY: Oil prices recovered a sharp decline overnight that erased gains from news of a production cut by OPEC countries and other major oil producers. U.S. benchmark crude was up 67 cents at $51.67 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used to price international oils, rose 59 cents to $60.56 a barrel.
CURRENCIES: The euro was up 0.2 percent at $1.1378 while the dollar dropped 0.2 percent to 113.12 yen.
