Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were headed modestly higher Thursday morning, putting the blue-chip index on track to log its longest win streak in more than a year, after President Donald Trump late Wednesday said the U.S. would delay implementing higher tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese goods for two weeks as a “gesture of good will.”
Meanwhile, the market is awaiting a key policy update from the European Central Bank, which is expected to announce a new round of easy-money measures to help stem a eurozone slowdown, policy initiatives that could help to guide the Federal Reserve’s actions when it convenes next week.
How are the major benchmarks performing?
Dow futures
YMU19, +0.20%
were up 53 points, or 0.2%, at 27,197, with a seventh advance on Thursday marking the best series of gains since an eight-session rally ended May 14, 2018, according to FactSet data. Meanwhile, futures for the S&P 500 index
ESU19, +0.15%
were up 3.75 points, or 0.1%, at 3,005.75, while the Nasdaq-100
NQU19, +0.38%
were gaining 23.75 points, or 0.3%, at 7,913.50.
On Wednesday, the Dow
DJIA, +0.85%
rose 227.61 points, or 0.9%, to 27,137.04, closing above 27,000 for the first time since July. The S&P 500 index
SPX, +0.72%
advanced 21.54 points, or 0.7%, to 3,000.93. The Nasdaq Composite Index
COMP, +1.06%
gained 85.52 points, or 1.1%, to 8,169.67.
Wednesday’s action left the Dow and S&P just 0.8% from their record closes, while the Nasdaq remains 1.9% from its all-time closing high.
What’s driving the market?
Trump said tariff hikes—from 25% to 30%—that were scheduled to take effect Oct. 1 will now go into effect Oct. 15. The president attributed the “gesture of goodwill”, as he described it via Twitter, to the People’s Republic’s 70th anniversary commencing on Oct. 1. and came at the request of China’s chief trade negotiator Vice Premier Liu He.
The moves comes as American and Chinese representatives are slated to meet in early October to restart stalled trade negotiations and avert any further escalation of animosities between the economic superpowers.
However, no date has been set to begin the high-level discussions, but the latest olive branch does help to reflect a momentary softening of tensions between Beijing and Washington, which had rattled global economies, because an outright trade war could further weaken an already slowing global economy.
Beyond trade, markets are focused on ECB President Mario Draghi, who will preside over his penultimate policy meeting as head of Europe’s rate-setting organization. Most economists and market participants anticipate that the ECB could further reduce rates, deepening the eurozone’s slide into rates that offer yields of less than 0%. The ECB may also deliver a new asset-buying program, and could also attempt to mitigate its easy-money moves to the broader financial community. In particular, the ECB could introduce a so-called tiered system of deposits, which would see only a portion of deposits subject to negative rates.
The ECB will announce its decision at 7:45 a.m. Eastern Time, followed by a news conference with Draghi at 8:30 a.m. Economists at Goldman Sachs said most of the measures will be revealed in the announcement, rather than the Draghi press conference.
Read: The ECB’s challenge: Pushing rates further into negative territory without wrecking eurozone banks
Check out: The ECB decision is coming—here’s what to expect
Which stocks are in focus?
Shares of Oracle Corp.
ORCL, +1.48%
are in focus after the technology company late Wednesday said co-CEO Mark Hurd was taking a leave of absence for health reasons. Co-CEO Safra Catz and Chairman Larry Ellison will cover Hurd’s duties, the company said. Oracle shares were down 1.9% in premarket trade Thursday.
How are other markets trading?
The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note
TMUBMUSD10Y, -0.99%
fell 1 basis point to 1.72% Thursday. Bond prices move inversely to yields.
In commodity markets, the price of crude oil
CLV19, -0.95%
was off 1% at $55.19 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after falling more than 2% on Wednesday amid reports that Trump discussed easing of sanctions on Iran in a move to secure a meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani later this month.
Gold prices
GCZ19, +0.52%
headed 0.5% higher to $1,510 an ounce. The U.S. dollar
DXY, -0.10%,
meanwhile, edged 0.1% lower to 98.55, as measured by the ICE U.S. Dollar Index, a gauge of the buck against a basket of six currencies.
In Asia overnight Thursday, the China CSI 300 l
000300, +1.08%
gained 1.1%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index
HSI, -0.26%
shed 0.3% and Japan’s Nikkei 225
NIK, +0.75%
rose 0.8%. European shares edged lower Thursday ahead of the ECB move, with the Stoxx Europe 600
SXXP, -0.06%
off 0.1%.
Source : MTV
