Yahoo Finance U.S. Futures Strongly Higher, Hopes For Brexit Deal Stoked , China Announces Financial Reforms
The U.S. Futures Are Ripping Higher
The U.S. equities futures are ripping higher in early trading following positive news regarding trade. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and NASDAQ Composite are all up more than 1.0% in early Friday trading. The spark that ignited this move is positive news on trade, news that suggests a temporary deal may be reached sometime today. Yesterday, a Tweet from Donald Trump that the talks were going “really well” was compounded today by another source who says the talks went “probably better than expected”.
Chinese Vice Premier Liu He is expected to meet with Donald Trump in the Oval Office later today. During the previous negotiations session, such a meeting preceded important concession from both sides. In stock news, shares of FAANG stocks are up more than 1.0% while the financials are close behind. Investors are also closely watching earnings. Next week the big banks are slated to report and open peak earnings season.
Europe Higher, Brexit Deal In Sight
European markets are also moving higher in early trading. The DAX is up about 2.0% while the CAC trails with a gain of 1.0% and the FTSE lags at 0.60% In Brexit news, Irish PM Leo Varadkar said a deal might be clenched by the deadline after a meeting with UK PM Boris Johnson. The two are trying to work out a solution to the Irish-Backstop, it appears they have hit on a promising possibility. JP Morgan, in the wake of this news, raised their odds of a smooth Brexit from 5% to 50%.
In stock news, tech is in the lead at midday with a gain greater than 3.0%. At the other end of the spectrum, shares of ad-company Publicis are down -13% after cutting full-year guidance. Energy is also a strong performer in the early part of today’s session. Brent and WTI are both up nearly 2.0% after Iran reported one of its tankers was struck by missiles. The tanker was traveling close to Saudi shores, the Saudis have not made a comment but it is possible they are retaliating for damage done last month.
Asian Markets Move Higher
Asian markets closed higher on rising trade hopes. The Hong Kong Hang Seng led the day in Friday’s session with a gain of 2.34%. The move was boosted by a 4.5% increase in CNOOC, China’s national oil company. The Nikkei is in the runner-up position with a gain of 1.15% while most others in the region advanced 0.80% to 0.90%. In China, China’s financial regulator has laid out a timeline reducing and removing requirements for foreign financial institutions.
This article was originally posted on FX Empire
