U.S., China reach partial trade deal
Early signs from U.S. stock futures suggest that Wall Street will open higher on Friday, after President Donald Trump reportedly signed off on the terms of a phase-one trade agreement with China.
The partial trade deal could be announced later in the day, according to multiple media reports that cited sources familiar with the plans.
Investors welcomed the deal, which will roll back existing tariffs on Chinese imports and avert new duties set to go into effect on December 15.
At 4:20 a.m. ET, the blue-chip Dow futures indicated a gain of 114.5 points, or 0.41% to 28,245.5. The S&P 500 futures advanced 12.38 points, or 0.39% to 3,180.38 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures edged 44.75 points, or 0.53% higher to 8,510.
Oil futures higher
Signs of progress in defusing the U.S.-China trade tensions also pushed oil futures higher on Friday.
At 4:20 a.m. ET, U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up $0.47, or around 0.79% to $59.65 a barrel.
Meanwhile, international Brent crude oil futures were at $64.88 per barrel, up $0.68, or around 1.06%.
Brexit uncertainty wanes as Boris Johnson secures big win in UK election
Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has vowed to take the country out of the European Union on January 31 after he led his Conservative party to a historic general election win on Thursday.
“We will get Brexit done on time by the 31st of January, no ifs, no buts, no maybes. I will make it my mission to work night and day, flat out to prove that you were right in voting for me this time, and to earn your support in the future,” Johnson told supporters on Friday.
The Conservative party had won 364 seats by Friday morning, securing an outright majority in the UK parliament and raising the prospects of a quick withdrawal from the EU.
Facebook could be barred from integrating its messaging apps by the FTC
Elsewhere, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is considering taking action against Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) over how its apps interact.
The move could block the social media giant’s plans to merge its family of apps, including WhatsApp messaging service and Instagram, under one network.
According to the Journal, it could also bar Facebook from enforcing policies around how its core apps can interact with each other and third-party apps.
FTC officials fear that merging Facebook’s apps could harm online competition, the publication said, citing sources. Shares of Facebook lost 2.72% to $196.75 in after-hours trading Thursday on the news.
