Investors cheer U.S.-China trade ceasefire
U.S. equity futures pointed to a positive open on Monday after President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed on Saturday to restart stalled trade talks.
The two leaders also agreed to hold off new tariffs on their products when they met on the sidelines of the G20 summit on Saturday in Osaka, Japan.
“I had a great meeting with President Xi of China yesterday, far better than expected. I agreed not to increase the already existing Tariffs that we charge China while we continue to negotiate,” Trump said on Twitter.
In addition, Trump offered to ease of restrictions on Chinese tech giant Huawei in order to avert an escalation of tensions that had weighed on global stock markets. As of 5:56 a.m. ET, futures on the blue-chip Dow were seen gaining 272.5 points, or 1.02% to 26,865.5.
Futures on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 were up 132.37 points, or 1.72% to 7,826.12 while S&P 500 futures jumped 32.13 points, or 1.09% to 2,976.38.
Oil prices soar as Russia, Saudi Arabia agree to extend supply cuts
Oil prices surged on Monday morning after Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to extend their oil supply cuts by six to nine months.
The announcement, which was made on Saturday when the two leaders met at the G20 summit, came ahead of a pivotal OPEC meeting that is taking place in Austria, Vienna.
At around 5:57 a.m. ET, U.S. crude futures for August climbed $1.67 to $60.14 a barrel while Brent crude futures for September delivery gained $1.89 to $66.63 a barrel.
More trouble for Boeing
Shares of Boeing Co (NYSE: BA) were slightly higher before the opening bell Monday despite reports that the U.S. Justice Department has subpoenaed records from the aerospace giant, as part of their investigation into the South Carolina production of the 787 Dreamliner model.
The DOJ is already looking into the developed and certification of the 737 MAX after the model was involved in two fatal crashes that claimed the lives of 346 people between October and March.
Applied Materials to acquire Kokusai Electric from KKR
Applied Materials Inc (NASDAQ: AMAT) is buying Japan-based semiconductor device maker Kokusai Electric Corp. from private equity group KKR in a $2.2 billion deal.
Shares of Applied Materials gained 3.32% in pre-market trading session after the company announced it will acquire all outstanding shares of Kokusai Electric Corp from KKR for $2.2 billion in cash. The deal is expected to close within twelve months.
