Jun E-mini S&Ps (ESM18 +0.59%) this morning are up +0.53% and European stocks are up +0.35% as global stock markets rally on reduced trade concerns between China and the U.S. President Trump’s top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, said Friday that the U.S. and China are holding “back-channel discussions” to resolve an escalating trade dispute and President Trump tweeted Sunday that “he and Chinese President Xi will always be friends, no matter what happens with our dispute on trade.” The markets will look to Tuesday’s speech by Chinese President Xi at the Boao forum for Asia for clues to China’s response to solve the trade dispute with the U.S. Russia’s benchmark MOEX Stock Index plunged nearly 7% today after the U.S. imposed new sanctions on Kremlin-connected billionaires and as tensions rose between the U.S. and Russia following the latest chemical attack in Syria. Asian stocks settled higher: Japan +0.51%, Hong Kong +1.29%, China +0.23%, Taiwan +0.67%, Australia +0.34%, Singapore +0.22%, South Korea +0.59%, India +0.48%.
The dollar index (DXY00 -0.39%) is up +0.10%. EUR/USD (^EURUSD-0.03%) is down -0.08%. USD/JPY (^USDJPY+0.16%) is up +0.15%.
Jun 10-year T-note prices (ZNM18 -0-050) are down -4 ticks.
Chicago Fed President Evans said the Fed should continue gradually raising interest rates if data on consumer prices indicate inflation will soon reach its 2% target. He added, “the headwinds that we were facing have turned into tailwinds, fiscal policy has been much more supportive of further growth, and so the need for more accommodative monetary policy is less than it was before.”
Eurozone Apr Sentix investor confidence fell -4.4 to a 14-month low of 19.6, weaker than expectations of -3.2 to 20.8.
The German Feb trade balance was in surplus by +18.4 billion euros, narrower than expectations of +20.1 billion euros. Feb exports unexpectedly fell -3.2% m/m, weaker than expectations of +0.4% m/m and the biggest decline in 2-1/3 years. Feb imports fell -1.3%, weaker than expectations of +0.5% and the biggest decline in 8 months.
