Global Stocks Waver, Awaiting Trade Developments
November 18 2019 - 9:19AM
Dow Jones News
By Caitlin Ostroff
Global stocks started the week with muted gains in the absence
of any further developments on U.S.-China trade negotiations.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were flat after
the gauge ended last week above the 28000 milestone.
China's state media Xinhua reported that senior officials from
both nations had "constructive discussions" on Saturday morning
regarding each other's concerns about a "phase one" deal. But
investors remain skeptical, as talks between the world's two
largest economies have hit snags in recent weeks over China's
reluctance to commit to a specific targets for purchases of U.S.
agricultural goods, as well as Beijing's concerns about President
Donald Trump's willingness to lift existing tariffs.
"The key to everything we're seeing at the moment is the
perception of uncertainty among investors," said Dan Kemp, chief
investment officer for Morningstar Investment Management in Europe,
the Middle East and Africa. "At the moment, we are living through a
period where that uncertainty is very visible."
Meanwhile, shares of Xerox HoldingsCorp. fell 2.3% after PC and
printer maker HP Inc. rejected a $33 billion takeover offer. Shares
of Estée Lauder edged down 1.6% after the beauty-products brand
agreed to acquire Seoul-based Have & Be Co. to expand its reach
in the Asia-Pacific region.
Over in Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 1.4% while the
Shanghai Composite Index advanced 0.6%. China's central bank on
Monday lowered its regular reverse repurchase rate for the first
time since October 2015 in an effort to boost market confidence and
bolster economic growth.
The pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 index ticked down 0.2%,
with the real estate and financial services sectors edging higher.
Shares in Aviva fell 4.7% after the British insurer said it plans
to retain its Singapore and China units, following a Bloomberg News
report that a group of financial firms were trying to buy its
assets in Singapore and Vietnam.
Spain's Bolsas y Mercados Espanoles rallied 37% after two rival
exchange-operators said Monday they are interested in a potential
acquisition of the Madrid-based company.
The pound gained 0.6% against the U.S. dollar as weekend opinion
polls showed that U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's party has the
highest level of support since 2017. Mr. Johnson also said that all
the Conservative Party candidates have pledged to vote for his
Brexit deal if he wins a majority in the Dec. 12 election. The
yield on the 10-year U.K. gilt rose to 0.760%, from 0.730%
Friday.
Later in the day, investors will be able to gauge U.S. home
builders' sentiment when the National Association of Home Builders
releases its survey. Cleveland Federal Reserve President Loretta
Mester is also scheduled to speak at the University of
Maryland.
Write to Caitlin Ostroff at caitlin.ostroff@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 18, 2019 09:04 ET (14:04 GMT)
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