World stocks pin hopes on US-China trade talks after brutal year
Trump claims progress in trade talk with Xi as almost all European and Asian share indices are in the red for year
London — World share and commodity prices rose on Monday as hints of progress on the US-China trade stand-off provided a glimmer of optimism in what has been a punishing 2018 for markets globally. Europe’s STOXX 600 followed Asia’s lead to push 0.4% higher and Wall Street futures were up 1% as traders tried to overcome the worst year for equities since the 2008 financial crisis. Sentiment had improved when US President Donald Trump tweeted that he held a “very good call” with China’s President Xi Jinping on Saturday to discuss trade and claimed “big progress” was being made. The Wall Street Journal reported the White House was pressing China for more details of how it might increase US exports and loosen regulations that stifle US companies there. Chinese state media was more reserved, saying Xi hoped the negotiating teams could meet each other half-way and reach an agreement that was mutually beneficial. Economic data out of China was also unhelpfully mixed, with manufacturing acti...
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