Opening Bell: Trade Uncertainty Roils Markets But Strong Data Sparks Rally

 | Jun 23, 2020 07:13

  • Trade advisor Navarro misspeaks on US-China trade, Trump insists deal “intact"
  • US futures rebound and Europe stocks advanced after Trump 'clarification'
  • Dollar setting up for another plunge
  • h2 Key Events/h2

    Contracts on the major US indices—the S&P 500, Dow Jones, NASDAQ and Russell 2000—initially opened higher on Tuesday, but slumped after the Trump administration’s trade advisor, Peter Navarro told Fox News the trade deal with China was "over." However, when a tweet from the US president later confirmed that the Phase 1 Sino-US trade pact was "fully intact," US futures and global shares rallied in relief.

    Though the dollar initially jumped after Navarro's comments, it's currently slipping. And oil and gold are trading higher.

    h2 Global Financial Affairs/h2

    Still, trade fears continue, even after Donald Trump's tweet calmed whipsawing markets. Though he may have assured markets that the deal remains in place, he still felt the need to express the hope that China will honor it.

    This morning Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced, with 18 out of 19 industry sectors in positive territory, largely due to better than expected regional PMI prints. French and German and Eurozone manufacturing data were all stronger than anticipated.

    Earlier, stocks in Asia climbed, tracking yesterday's late rally on Wall Street, led by technology shares. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng outperformed, (+1.4%), wiping out an early 1.3% Navarro-driven plunge. Tencent (HK:0700) hit an all-time high. Uncharacteristically, China’s Shanghai Composite lagged, (+0.2%).

    Yesterday, American markets gained, disregarding a real possibility of a second wave of the coronavirus in the country as well as globally. The NASDAQ 100 added over 1%. Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Square (NYSE:SQ) each posted new all-time highs.