Stock futures cautious due to trade concerns

FAN Editor

Stock futures were searching for direction as trade talks with China may get going, while those with Canada may be on hold.

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Dow Jones futures were rising by 0.09%. The S&P 500 added 0.06% and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.07%.

President Trump’s chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow confirmed to FOX Business on Wednesday that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has proposed renewed trade talks with China.

However, the next round of talks on a trade agreement with Canada seem to be in question.

A meeting was reportedly expected to be held on Thursday, but Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland went back to Canada to brief Prime Minister Trudeau and says she is staying there and that officials needed to do more work before she could hold fresh talks.

All eyes are also on the Carolina coast as Hurricane Florence remains on track to make landfall  in the next day. The force of the hurricane has been downgraded, but is expected to regain strength.

Industries such as air travel, home improvement centers, generator makers and insurance companies may remain active on Thursday.

The European Central Bank and the Bank of England hold policy meetings on Thursday, but both are widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged.

In European trading, London’s FTSE opened flat, Germany’s DAX was up 0.4 percent and France’s CAC was off 0.04 percent.

In Asia on Thursday,  China’s Shanghai Composite finished the day 1.1 percent higher.

Japan’s Nikkei closed up 0.96 percent.

Stocks were mostly flat Wednesday, giving back some earlier gains that followed a Dow Jones report that the U.S. will reach out to China for another round of trade talks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 27.86 points, or 0.11 percent, to 25,998.92. The S&P 500 gained 1.03 points, closing at 2,888.92. The Nasdaq Composite fell 18.25 points. or 0.23 percent, to 7,954.23.

Ticker Security Last Change %Chg
I:DJI DOW JONES AVERAGES 25998.92 +27.86 +0.11%
SP500 S&P 500 2888.92 +1.03 +0.04%
I:COMP NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX 7954.2287 -18.24 -0.23%

Wednesday afternoon, the Federal Reserve released its Beige Book, a collection of anecdotes on the state of the U.S. economy. Highlights include that three Fed districts reported ‘somewhat below average growth’ while wage growth was modest across the U.S. with most districts reporting widespread labor shortages.

Apple shares fell more than 1 percent as the company announced three new versions of the iPhone and the next iteration of its Watch.

On the Thursday economic calendar, traders will get the usual report on jobless claims and  the latest on consumer prices.

FOX Business’ Leia Klingel contributed to this article.

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