U.S. stock index futures turned sharply higher Thursday morning after China reportedly said the world’s two largest economies had agreed to cancel additional tariffs imposed in their months-long trade war.
At around 03:00 a.m. ET, Dow futures rose 115 points, indicating a positive open of more than 99 points. Futures on the S&P and Nasdaq were both higher.
China said Thursday that both sides must simultaneously cancel some existing tariffs on one another’s goods in order to reach a “phase one” trade agreement, Reuters reported, citing a spokesperson at the commerce ministry. The report also said the proportion of tariffs scrapped must be the same.
It comes after reports that a meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping could be postponed until December — delaying a chance for the two leaders to sign an interim trade deal.
The U.S. and China have imposed tariffs on billions of dollars’ worth of one another’s goods since the start of 2018, battering financial markets and souring business and consumer sentiment.
Data, earnings
On the data front, the latest weekly jobless claims will be released at around 8:30 a.m., with consumer credit figures for September due to be published later in the session.
In corporate news, Discovery, Johnson Controls and Ralph Lauren are among some of the companies set to report earnings.
Booking Holdings, Disney and Activision Holdings are among some of companies set to report their latest quarterly figures after market close.
