FOX Business’ Deirdre Bolton, GOP pollster Noelle Nikpour, Potomac Wealth Advisors president Mark Avallone and chief research officer of H Squared Research Hitha Herzog discuss how President Trump’s decision to sign the Hong Kong Democracy Act bill won’t impact the trade deal or consumer spending since the Chinese will most likely resort to their normal ways.
U.S. stocks look to start the new month with a gain, helped by optimism about Chinese manufacturing data.
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The three major futures indexes are indicating a rise of 0.4 percent when Wall Street begins trading on Monday.
Chinese factory activity improved ahead of a possible U.S. tariff hike on Chinese imports.
Monthly surveys showed Chinese manufacturing output rose in November, defying expectations of a decline.
Caixin magazine said its purchasing managers’ index rose to a two-year high of 51.8 from October’s 51.7 on a 100-point scale on which numbers above 50 show activity expanding.
A separate survey by the China Federation for Logistics & Purchasing rose to 50.2 from 49.3.
That helped to buoy sentiment as investors wait for a U.S.-Chinese trade deal ahead of a Dec. 15 deadline for a tariff hike. U.S. legislation on Hong Kong threatens to disrupt the negotiations.
China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.1 percent, Tokyo’s Nikkei gained 1.0 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.4 percent.
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Investors have grown cautious about lack of results from U.S.-Chinese talks on terms of the “Phase 1” deal announced by President Donald Trump in October amid negotiations aimed at ending a costly tariff war.
Washington is due to raise tariffs on $160 billion worth of Chinese products, including smartphones and laptops, as of Dec. 15.
Trump expressed concern negotiations might be affected by legislation he signed last week that is intended to buttress Hong Kong’s status as a semi-autonomous Chinese territory amid tension over anti-government protests.
The measure could alter treatment of Hong Kong as a separate territory for trade if the State Department determines it no longer has enough autonomy from the Chinese mainland.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 28051.41 | -112.59 | -0.40% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 3140.98 | -12.65 | -0.40% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 8665.470809 | -39.70 | -0.46% |
U.S. stocks closed out November with their largest monthly gains since June — though slipped in Friday’s shortened trading session as the holiday-shopping season kicked off.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite each rose more than 3 percent for the month and booked modest weekly gains.
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The indexes have notched a series of records in recent sessions, most recently on Wednesday ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
