Futures edge higher
U.S. stock futures were higher Thursday, after President Donald Trump told reporters at a NATO meeting near London on Tuesday that U.S.-China trade talks were going very well.
“Discussions are going very well and we’ll see what happens,” Trump said. On Monday, the president had said it could take until after the 2020 U.S. presidential election to reach a deal with China.
Bloomberg, citing sources, also reported on Wednesday that talks between the two sides were moving closer to agreeing on the amount of tariffs that would be rolled back in a phase one trade deal despite tensions over Xinjiang and Hong Kong.
At 4:35 a.m. ET, the blue-chip Dow futures were up 40.5 points, or 0.16% to 27,691.5. The S&P 500 advanced 5.38 points, or 0.17% to 3,116.38 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 indicated a gain of 15 points, or 0.18% to 8,310.25.
China insists U.S. must cut tariffs to reach a phase one trade deal
China’s Ministry of Commerce spokesman Gao Feng said on Thursday that tariffs must be rolled back if his country and the U.S. are to strike a preliminary trade deal.
“The Chinese side believes that if the two sides reach a phase one deal, tariffs should be lowered accordingly,” Reuters quoted the spokesman as saying. Feng also added that China and the U.S. were maintaining close communication.
Last month, China said the U.S. agreed had agreed to roll back some tariffs, but the Trump administration dismissed the claim.
Tiffany, Kroger, Slack earnings on watch
Jewelry giant Tiffany & Co (NYSE: TIF) is expected to report fiscal third-quarter earnings of $0.85 per share before the opening bell today.
Kroger (NYSE: KR), Signet Jewelers (NYSE: SIG), Dollar General (NYSE: DG), and Michaels Companies (NASDAQ: MIK) are also scheduled to announce ahead of the bell.
CrowdStrike (NASDAQ: CRWD), Zoom Video (NASDAQ: ZM), Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ: ULTA), and DocuSign (NASDAQ: DOCU) will publish their quarterly results after the market close.
