World stocks cheered by Trump trade talk as sterling claws off lows
Donald Trump says trade talks are ongoing with China, and he could act on Huawei's CFO saga; the pound rises off 20-month low as May faces party challenge
London — Stock markets rallied on Wednesday as US President Donald Trump sounded upbeat about a trade deal with China, while sterling rose off 20-month lows as UK Prime Minister Theresa May vowed to fight a challenge to her leadership. In an interview with Reuters, Trump said talks were taking place with Beijing by phone and he would not raise tariffs on Chinese imports until he was sure about a deal. Trump also said he would intervene in the US justice department’s case against a top executive at China’s Huawei Technologies if it would serve national security interests or help close a trade deal. A Canadian court on Tuesday granted bail to the executive in a move that could help placate Chinese officials angered by her arrest. The news was enough to prompt a bounce after days of struggle and MSCI’s broadest index of world stocks advanced nearly 0.5%. Japan’s Nikkei had led the way in Asia with a jump of 2%, while Shanghai blue chips trailed with just 0.2%. London, Frankfurt and Par...
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