UKX FTSE 100 Index

By Caitlin Ostroff 

Global stocks climbed Monday on the prospect of progress in U.S.-China trade talks and expectations of central-bank stimulus measures across major economies.

S&P 500 futures rose 1%. The Stoxx Europe 600 added 1.1% in afternoon trading, led by gains in its basic resources, autos and banking sectors. The German DAX gauge rose 1.4% and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was up 1.1%.

President Trump's comments over the weekend that talks with China were going well helped lift investor sentiment, according to a Deutsche Bank report. Mr. Trump tweeted that Chinese officials could soon be visiting the White House for further negotiations.

The markets were also buoyed after reports that Germany could be open to carve out about EUR50 billion ($55.55 billion) for a fresh fiscal stimulus package.

U.S. Treasury yields were up, after a brief inversion of 10-year and two-year yields last week stoked fears of a recession. The 10-year yield on Monday rose to 1.614%, from 1.540% on Friday. Yields rise when prices fall.

Patrick Spencer, vice chairman of equities at Baird, said European bank shares have gained on easing recession fears, having been "priced to a disaster scenario. They're in the bargain bin."

Mr. Spencer said the fall in recession fears as well as a Friday meeting of central bank leaders in Jackson Hole, Wyo., have buoyed investor sentiment of further rate cuts and brought the market up. Investors will also be looking to the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent meeting to offer further clues on the central bank's policy outlook.

Bond markets this week will be focused on speculation around a major stimulus package from the European Central Bank and German fiscal stimulus, said Commerzbank strategist Rainer Guntermann. Germany plans to sell a new 30-year bund on Wednesday.

In currencies, the British pound edged down against the euro. The pound also fell against the U.S. dollar, which has experienced a prolonged rally against other currencies.

The pound's fall came on the heels of a leaked weekend report that predicted a no-deal Brexit would lead to shortages in medical supplies and food, reinforcing the negative impact of continued Brexit uncertainty.

The WSJ Dollar Index, which measures the currency against a basket of its peers, ticked up 0.1%.

Hong Kong stocks were among the best performers in Asia on Monday. The Hang Seng Index rose 2.2%, its best performance since June, as there was some relief that the weekend's large-scale protest didn't end in violence.

Elsewhere in Asia, the Shanghai Composite rose 2.2%, while indexes in Japan and Korea rose less than 1% apiece.

Chinese shares stood out with a strong rally, buoyed by a fresh interest-rate reform by Beijing that is widely expected to result in easier monetary policy.

An official blueprint to develop the southern city of Shenzhen into a global technology hub and experiment with more financial liberalizations there made the gains on the smaller exchange even sharper.

Leading the pack were Shenzhen-listed technology firms and brokerages that stand to benefit from a proposed reform of share-listing policy. ZTE's stock rose 6.1%, while Citic Securities increased 6.6%.

"Brokers are rising sharply because the Shenzhen development plan indicates stronger determination by the government to further open up the financial sector and encourage innovation," said Deng Wenyuan, a Suzhou-based analyst at Soochow Securities.

In commodities, global benchmark Brent crude gained 1.2% to $59.3 a barrel. Gold dropped 0.9%.

Shen Hong and Steven Russolillo contributed to this article.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 19, 2019 09:46 ET (13:46 GMT)

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