FOX Business’ David Asman and Jackie DeAngelis, Fortune Magazine’s senior editor-at-large Adam Lashinsky, Kaltbaum Capital Management’s president Gary Kaltbaum, Fox News economic analyst Jonas Max Ferris and China analyst Gordon Chang discuss why America should show support for Hong Kong protesters and pass a U.S.-China trade deal. Chang says an either, or solution won’t work.
TOKYO (AP) — Global shares were higher Monday amid some optimism that the U.S. and China may edging closer to a trade deal.
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U.S. shares were set to drift higher with Dow futures adding 0.3% to 27,939. S&P 500 futures rose 0.2% at 3,118.50.
Investors were watching the situation in Hong Kong, where pro-democracy candidates won a majority of seats in a local district council election Sunday. After nearly six months of often violent protests, it is yet another challenge for Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s government.
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“The result might not be market-friendly as it sets to challenge Carrie Lam’s leadership and bring up political uncertainties. But it could also mark a turning point in stopping the violent clashes,” said Margaret Yang, market analyst at CMC Markets in Singapore.
Markets around the world churned last week on uncertainty about whether the U.S. and China can soon halt their trade dispute, or at least stop it from escalating.
Tariffs already put in place have hurt manufacturing around the world, and businesses have held back on spending given all the uncertainty about where the rules of global trade will end up.
New U.S. tariffs are set to hit Dec. 15 on many Chinese-made items on holiday shopping lists, such as smartphones and laptops.
A document issued Sunday called for China to “effectively curb” violations of intellectual property rights such as trademarks and copyrights.
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The guidelines ordered improvements to laws for protecting such intellectual property, increased compensation for infringements and stricter enforcement of existing laws.
Theft and forced transfers of technology and inadequate protection of copyrights, patents and trademarks are perennial complaints of foreign companies operating in China and are among the key issues in the latest flareup in trade tensions.
President Donald Trump said last week that a deal between the world’s largest economies is “potentially very close” after Chinese President Xi Jinping said Beijing is working to “try not to have a trade war,” but will nevertheless fight back if necessary.
“A positive start to the trading week is expected with the trade comments from President Donald Trump last week though investors remain contemplating the U.S.-China trade issue that may not make concrete headway by year-end,” said Jingyi Pan, market strategist at IG.
France’s CAC 40 added 0.6% in early trading to 5,927.70, while Germany’s DAX edged up 0.5% to 13,232.23. Britain’s FTSE 100 gained nearly 0.7% to 7,374.79.
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Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 surged 0.8% to finish at 23,292.81, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.3% to 6,731.40. South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.0% to 2,123.50. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.5% to 26,993.04, while the Shanghai Composite advanced 0.7% to 2,906.17.
Shares fell in Taiwan and Singapore but rose in Bangkok.
ENERGY: Benchmark crude added 10 cents to $57.87 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It fell 81 cents to $57.77 a barrel on Friday. Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 10 cents to $62.47 a barrel.
CURRENCIES: The dollar strengthened to 108.87 Japanese yen from 108.64 yen on Friday. The euro inched up to $1.1025 from $1.1022.
