Top 5 Things to Know in the Market on Friday

Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Friday, August 2:

1. Beijing fires back at Trump on tariffs

Beijing pledged on Friday to retaliate if the U.S. moves forward with extra tariffs on the remainder of Chinese imports.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said China would take “necessary countermeasures” although she provided no details on the planned response.

Beijing’s reaction comes after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would place a 10% tariff on a further $300 billion in Chinese goods starting on Sept. 1.

Trump's announcement, which came a day after U.S. and Chinese negotiators concluded a meeting in Shanghai without significant signs of progress, marks an end to a truce in the trade war struck in June and could further disrupt global supply chains.

2. Jobs report on tap

The U.S. economy is expected to have churned out fewer jobs in July than in the previous month, reflecting a cooling the economy under the influence of trade conflicts and the fading of the fiscal stimulus that supported growth in 2018.

The report, to be released at 8:30 AM (12:30 GMT), is forecast to show the creation of 164,000 jobs in July, with the unemployment rate sticking at 3.7%.

Some traders are worried that a stronger report could make it harder for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates further, in the wake of comments from chairman Jerome Powell earlier this week that expressed skepticism about the need for an easier monetary policy.

Analysts commented that recent readings of consumer sentiment were solid, leaving some upside risk to consensus.

Also on the agenda, trade data for June will be released at the same time while June factory orders and the revision to the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment for July will be published at 10:00 AM ET (14:00 GMT).

3. Global stocks shudder at tariff threats, safe havens rise

A sharp decline on Wall Street a day earlier spread to global equities as worries over the U.S. increasing tariffs on Chinese goods hit risk appetite and stoked demand for safe haven assets.

Stock markets in Asia and Europe sold off while U.S. futures extended Thursday’s losses ahead of earnings from oil majors and the U.S. jobs report.

Gold jumped more than 1% hovering around the $1,450 handle, safe haven currencies such as the yen or Swiss franc moved higher against the U.S. dollar, while demand for bonds sent the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield tumbling to its lowest level since 2016.

4. Exxon and Chevron to report earnings

Oil majors Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) and Chevron (NYSE:CVX) will be in the spotlight as they report quarterly earnings ahead of the opening bell.

Exxon’s results are likely to be held back by weaker performance in its refining segment after the company flagged narrower margins in its chemical business, a trend already evident in the reports of European majors such as Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSa).

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) will release its first quarterly numbers since failing in its bid to acquire Anadarko (NYSE:APC). Higher output is expected to offset weakness in its downstream business, which includes refining activity.

5. Trump set to make statement on EU trade

Trump’s daily itinerary includes “an announcement on EU trade” at 1:45 PM ET (17:45 GMT) although no details of what it would entail were specified.

Bloomberg however cited people familiar with the matter as saying that Trump will formally announce a deal to open up the European Union to more beef exports.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and the European ambassador to the U.S. will then sign the agreement in a formal ceremony that Bloomberg’s sources said was designed to show progress on the bilateral trade agenda.

That would represent a change in tone from recent weeks, in which President Trump has threatened to raise tariffs on French wine in response to a new French tax on digital giants, in addition to repeating older threats of tariffs on European autos.

That would represent a brightening of the tone from recent weeks, in which President Trump has threatened to raise tariffs on French wine in response to a new French tax on digital giants, in addition to repeating older threats of tariffs on European autos.

-- Reuters contributed to this report.

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