The Breakfast Briefing: U.S. Futures Slightly Higher, Global Stocks Mixes Ahead Of Fed Minutes

Ted

FYI: U.S. stock index futures were slightly higher Wednesday morning.

At around 02:20 a.m. ET, Dow futures rose 43 points, indicating a positive open of more than 61 points. Futures on the S&P and Nasdaq were both marginally higher.

Market focus is largely attuned to global trade developments, with high-level negotiators from the U.S. and China poised to meet for a fresh round of talks in Washington, D.C., on Thursday.

The long-running dispute has slowly expanded beyond trade policy, exacerbating fears about further damage to a fragile global economy.

• Brent crude falls

• Gold prices rise

• Asian markets mixed

Global stocks were mixed as investors awaited the resumption of U.S.-China trade talks and looked for fresh signals from the Federal Reserve on monetary easing.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index slipped 0.6% as data on machine-tool orders confirmed a bleak picture for the country’s manufacturing sector.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 0.8% amid tensions over protests in the city. The Shanghai Composite gauge climbed 0.4%.

In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 edged up 0.2%, led by equities in Germany. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index ticked up 0.3%, a day after the pound weakened and made British assets appear more attractive.

Sterling, which fell Tuesday after U.K. leaders clashed with their European counterparts over Brexit, edged up 0.1% against the U.S. dollar.

Investors moved toward haven assets such as gold. The precious metal rose 0.6% Wednesday and remained above $1,500 a troy ounce, a level it broke through for the first time in six years in August. It is up around 17% this year.

Later Wednesday, investors are likely to listen closely to any fresh signals from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell in a speech in Kansas City. The Fed will increase its purchases of short-term securities soon in an effort to avoid stress in lending markets, Mr. Powell said Tuesday.

The U.S. central bank will later Wednesday release the minutes from its September meeting, which will likely be scrutinized closely for any insight into the interest-rate outlook.

In commodities, the benchmark for global oil, Brent crude, fell 0.2% to $58.11 a barrel.
Regards,
Ted

WSJ:
Bloomberg:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-08/asia-stock-futures-slide-as-trade-tensions-ramp-up-markets-wrap

IBD:
https://www.investors.com/market-trend/stock-market-today/dow-jones-futures-china-trade-talks-hit-stock-market-rally-apple-boeing-home-depot-nike-walmart/

CNBC::
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/09/stock-market-wall-street-looks-ahead-to-us-china-trade-talks.html

U.K.
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/banks-help-ftse-100-bounce-back-despite-u-s-china-trade-jitters-idUKKBN1WO0MG

Europe:
https://www.reuters.com/article/europe-stocks/european-shares-weighed-down-by-trade-brexit-worries-idUSL3N26U21G

Asia:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-retreat-as-trade-tensions-ratchet-back-up-2019-10-08/print

Bonds:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/09/us-bonds-treasury-yields-in-focus-ahead-of-us-china-trade-talks.html

Currencies:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/09/forex-markets-brexit-us-china-trade-in-focus.html

Oil:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/09/oil-markets-us-china-trade-war-in-focus.html

Gold:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/09/gold-markets-us-china-trade-war-in-focus.html

Cuirrent Futures:
https://finviz.com/futures.ashx