U.S. Stock Futures Tick Higher as G-20 Begins

By Avantika Chilkoti   -- S&P 500 futures up 0.2% 

-- Asian markets lower

-- European benchmark index up 0.4%

U.S. stock futures and European shares were up early Friday, as investors awaited a meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 summit, where trade negotiations will be top of the agenda.

Shares in Constellation Brands, the drinks group, were up 7.3% in premarket trading following an earnings report that beat expectations.

In Europe, Deutsche Bank shares climbed 3.3% after its U.S. subsidiary passed the Federal Reserve's stress test. The consumer services, transportation and technology services sectors led the regional market higher.

Meanwhile, the U.K.'s Merlin Entertainment, the world's second largest operator of visitor attractions, was up about 14% after it said it was being bought by a consortium involving Lego and Blackstone Group.

The Commerce Department reported that personal-consumption expenditures, a measure of household spending on everything from carpet cleaning to computers, increased a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in May from April. Growth in April outlays was revised up to 0.6% from an originally reported 0.3% rise.

The downbeat trading session in Asia came ahead of the G-20 meetings this weekend, where investors will watch for signs that trade tensions between the U.S. and China are set to clear.

Monica Defend, head of strategy and deputy head of group research and macro strategy at Amundi, said she didn't expect the U.S. and China to break the impasse on trade at the meetings in Japan, and that she will be watching other factors, such as upcoming economic data, closely.

"The G-20 is just one on the list in order to understand how much uncertainty might continue to stay on trade and eventually on growth," Ms. Defend said, pointing to the recent drop in bond yields, which signals gloomy expectations for global output.

Write to Avantika Chilkoti at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 28, 2019 09:02 ET (13:02 GMT)

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