U.S. Stock Futures Rise With Yuan Amid Trade Hopes: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. equity futures climbed and the yuan built on recent gains amid after a series of positive developments in U.S.-China trade talks that have buoyed global stocks. The British pound held its advance after U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May survived an attempt to oust her.

Futures on the S&P 500 rose as news broke that Chinese importers have bought U.S. soybeans. Earlier, the S&P 500 Index rose, extending rallies in Europe and Asia, though the gains were pared in afternoon trading. Australian shares opened flat and futures pointed to a marginally weaker start for stocks in Japan, with China and Hong Kong indicating a stronger open. The dollar was steady after declining with Treasuries as data showed a key measure of U.S. inflation picked up as expected in November.

While trade tensions appeared to ease earlier this week, Trump administration officials on Wednesday signaled that Beijing will have to do more to end the tariff war. Both Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Treasury Undersecretary for International Affairs David Malpass called on China to agree on timelines, deadlines and enforceable actions to balance trade and open their markets to foreign companies. For its part, China is considering plans to delay some targets in its strategy to dominate high-end technologies, according to people familiar with the matter.

In the U.K., May won a vote of confidence in her leadership of the Conservative Party, with Tory members of Parliament backing her by 200 to 117 in the secret ballot. Despite that settling doubts over her immediate future, it is likely to be only a temporary reprieve for the embattled premier who is facing hardened opposition in Parliament to the Brexit agreement she negotiated with the European Union, and her attempts to get better terms have so far fallen flat.

Elsewhere, oil held below $52 a barrel as a smaller-than-expected decline in U.S. crude stockpiles renewed fears a global glut.

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Coming Up

• The European Central Bank is set to end asset purchases at its final policy meeting of 2018 on Thursday.
• China industrial production, retail sales data for November is due Friday.

And these are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index was little changed.
• Futures on Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.2 percent in Singapore.
• FTSE China A50 Index futures gained 0.4 percent.
• Hang Seng Index futures were up 0.9 percent.
• Futures on the S&P 500 gained 0.2 percent. The S&P 500 Index rose 0.5 percent.
• The MSCI Emerging Market Index advanced 1.5 percent.

Currencies

• The yen traded at 113.28 per dollar.
• The offshore yuan added 0.1 percent to 6.8683 per dollar after rising 0.5 percent.
• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was steady after decreasing 0.4 percent.
• The euro traded at $1.1371.
• The British bought $1.2636.

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries climbed three basis points to 2.91 percent.
• Australia’s 10-year bond yield rose two basis points to 2.47 percent.

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude added 0.4 percent to $51.36 a barrel.
• Gold was steady at $1,246.29 an ounce.

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