European stocks climbed along with U.S. equity futures after a mixed session in Asia as investors assessed the latest news on trade and awaited more clues on monetary policy. Treasury yields ticked higher after retreating Tuesday.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index jumped, with automakers leading the advance as Renault and Fiat Chrysler surged after a report that they’re still talking about a potential merger. Contracts on the three main U.S. equity gauges advanced a day after the S&P 500 Index closed lower as U.S. President Donald Trump showed no urgency to resolve trade friction with China and renewed his call for a “big” Federal Reserve rate cut. Japanese and Australian benchmarks fell, while shares rose in Hong Kong and Seoul and were little changed in Shanghai. The yen slipped with the pound and the dollar was little changed. Most European bonds declined, though Italian debt rose a second day after Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte resigned.
Policy makers and world leaders prepare to convene this week to consider the weakest global growth since the financial crisis. The Group of Seven leaders, with President Trump among them, will gather in France from the weekend as the European Central Bank mulls interest rate cuts. And while the Fed minutes due Wednesday may provide some clarity on officials’ views, they’re likely to be overshadowed by Chairman Jerome Powell’s address at Jackson Hole in Wyoming on Friday in the wake of Trump’s latest attack on the central bank.
“The key thing this week is the Jackson Hole speech by Fed Chair Powell,” Tuuli McCully, head of Asia-Pacific Economics at Scotiabank, told Bloomberg TV. “It will be interesting to hear if he sticks to the mid-cycle adjustment tone or if he will promise more.” - Bloomberg -