Morning Bid: US-China talks stir hope, and scepticism

Reuters

Thu, May 8, 2025, 9:43 PM 3 min read

A look astatine the time up successful European and planetary markets from Kevin Buckland

Without doubt, markets are much optimistic present astir a thaw successful planetary commercialized tensions than they were 2 weeks ago, erstwhile the medication of U.S. President Donald Trump archetypal started hinting astatine a de-escalation with China.

But immoderate hopes determination are heading into Saturday's scheduled talks successful Switzerland betwixt U.S. and Chinese officials, they are not being embraced evenly crossed markets.

The dollar remains up connected the euro, sitting astatine a one-month peak, but the safe-haven yen is pushing up from a one-month trough, apt successful effect to Beijing's defiant code connected Friday erstwhile China's vice overseas affairs curate said that, portion his state doesn't privation a commercialized war, it doesn't fearfulness 1 either.

The yuan dipped to a one-week debased successful offshore markets.

Trump has hinted that sky-high 145% levies connected Chinese goods - which efficaciously magnitude to an embargo - would apt travel down, though the White House dismissed arsenic speculation a New York Post study of a program to slash tariffs by much than half.

In banal markets, Japan's Nikkei roseate 1.5% but gains elsewhere successful Asia were much muted and, possibly tellingly, Chinese bourses including Hong Kong's Hang Seng were each lower.

Wall Street futures were level connected Friday, aft immoderate comparatively robust gains overnight. Signals from European futures indicated lone a marginal rise.

The build-up to Washington's commercialized statement with London connected Thursday acceptable the marketplace up to beryllium a spot disappointed. Analysts aboriginal called it much of a model than a commercialized deal, and much benignant than substance.

But taking the glass-half-full view, arsenic the archetypal woody since Trump started ramping up tariffs successful earnest, it does disturbance hopes that the White House whitethorn beryllium looking for rapid-fire deals successful coming weeks to inject further calm into markets that person been severely bruised by erratic U.S. commercialized edicts.

Crude lipid traders look optimistic, sending Nymex up much than 3% connected Thursday, portion safe-haven golden sagged a small further backmost from past month's all-time peak.

Bitcoin is peculiarly buoyant, pushing backmost to the cusp of $104,000 connected Friday. At assorted times this twelvemonth the token has acted arsenic a barometer of hazard appetite and of expectations connected Trump policy.

But it whitethorn person adjacent much going connected now, according to StanChart's integer plus expert Geoffrey Kendrick, who predicts a interruption of the grounds precocious of $109,071.86 "is coming soon".

"It is present each astir flows," helium wrote successful his latest note, pointing to some buying by whales and ETF inflows.