AP/Mark Lennihan
- Global stock markets jumped on Friday, fueled by renewed hopes for a deal to end the year-long trade war between the world's two largest economies.
- US and Chinese trade negotiators are maintaining "effective communication," China's Foreign Ministry said on Friday, according to Reuters.
- "Both sides remain in communication at various levels," a White House official told Markets Insider on Thursday.
- View Markets Insider's homepage for more stories.
Global stock markets jumped on Friday, fueled by renewed hopes for a deal to end the yearlong trade war between the world's two largest economies.
US and Chinese trade negotiators are maintaining "effective communication," China's Foreign Ministry said on Friday, according to Reuters.
"Both sides remain in communication at various levels," a White House official told Markets Insider on Thursday.
The positive updates followed confirmation by China's Commerce Ministry that discussions were underway for a round of trade talks in September.
The possibility of renewed talks "allows markets to continue clinging on to hope that a resolution to this protracted impasse is not dead in the water, with traders using this as an excuse to push further into risk-on territory at any given opportunity," Han Tan, market analyst at FXTM, said in a morning note.
The news provided some relief ahead of the next round of tariffs. The US plans to extend tariffs to virtually all Chinese goods in two phases, with the first set scheduled for Sunday. China intends to retaliate with its own duties on the same timescale.
Here's the market roundup as of 9:40 a.m. (4:40 a.m. EST):
- European equities opened higher with Germany's DAX up 0.8%, Britain's FTSE 100 up 0.4%, and the Euro Stoxx 50 up 0.7%.
- US stocks are poised for a positive open. Futures underlying the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 rose 0.3%, while Nasdaq futures rose 0.4%.
- Asian indexes were mixed. China's Shanghai Composite slid 0.2%, Japan's Nikkei jumped 1.2%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.2%.
- Oil prices have dropped, with West Texas Intermediate crude down 1% at $56.20 a barrel, and Brent crude down 0.5% at $60.20.
- Gold fell 0.2% to 1,534.
