Global Stocks Mixed Amid Trade Uncertainty

By Caitlin Ostroff and Joanne Chiu 
   -- Asian equities rally on optimism about U.S.-China trade deal 
 
   -- European shares drop as region braces for fresh U.S. tariffs 
 
   -- Pound weakens with Brexit-deal optimism wavering 

-- Pound weakens with Brexit-deal optimism wavering

-- European shares drop as region braces for fresh U.S. tariffs

-- Asian equities rally on optimism about U.S.-China trade deal

Global stocks painted a mixed picture at the start of the week as optimism about a potential U.S.-China trade deal was offset by uncertainty surrounding Brexit and fresh tariffs in Europe.

Stocks in Asia, which had ended trading before President Trump said Friday that the U.S. and China had completed the early stages of a deal, rallied on the news Monday. The Shanghai Composite gauge advanced 1.2% while the benchmark Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong rose 0.9%. The Chinese yuan strengthened 0.4% to 7.0564 a dollar in offshore trading.

"The ceasefire suggested that China and U.S. trade negotiations were moving back to the right track," said Ken Cheung, chief Asian foreign-exchange strategist at Mizuho Bank.

Still, U.S. stock futures ticked slightly lower on Monday as fresh questions cropped up over the weekend about the two countries' ability to reach a broader agreement.

The world's two largest economies ended last week by saying they had taken initial steps to cement a trade agreement, with Washington forgoing a planned increase in tariffs on imports from China that was scheduled to go into place in the coming days. While Beijing agreed to boost purchases of U.S. agricultural products, details remained elusive, and disagreements on a number of other issues remained unresolved.

Over in Europe, the pound fell 0.5% against the dollar. The weekend of talks between European Union and British negotiators, who face a deadline this week to reach a deal on Brexit, failed to result in a breakthrough. Diplomats said even the outline of a deal looked difficult to clinch given the gap between the sides and the complexity of the issues, erasing some of last week's optimism. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 barometer dropped 0.5%.

The pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 gauge fell 0.7%, led by declines in basic-resources companies. Questions about economic growth prospects in the region continue to mount, especially after the U.S. earlier this month announced plans to hit European airlines, whiskey, cheese and hand tools with tariffs later this week.

While U.S. bond markets will be closed Monday in observance of Columbus Day, stock trading will resume, though likely with lower volumes than normal.

Write to Caitlin Ostroff at [e-mail] and Joanne Chiu at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 14, 2019 04:52 ET (08:52 GMT)

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