Date: November 06, 2018
United States:
U.S. Futures Slip With European Stocks; Oil Drops: Markets Wrap
It was a mixed picture across global stock markets on Tuesday, with investors showing some caution as they await the U.S. midterm elections. European equities turned lower alongside American futures while Asian shares advanced. Treasury yields edged up and the dollar was steady. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index quickly erased a positive start and technology, retail and construction were among the sectors leading the gauge down. Contracts on the S&P 500, Dow Jones and Nasdaq also all retreated. The mood in Asia was more upbeat and equities climbed in Japan, Australia, South Korea and Hong Kong, but underperformed in China even as the country’s vice president said Beijing remained ready to discuss a trade solution with Washington. European government bonds were mixed and range-bound. The euro recovered from disappointing manufacturing data to eke out a gain.
Europe:
What a Brexit Deal Can and Can’t Do for the British Economy
The “deal dividend” promised to Britain by Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond might be tantalizingly close amid signs an amicable divorce from the European Union could be within sight. Hammond said last week that a Brexit agreement would allow him to end austerity. Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said the economy would finally see a way through the fog after more than two years of uncertainty. There are plenty of caveats — not least that any deal between leaders still needs to go through EU and U.K. lawmakers — but here are the areas most likely to gain from a smooth split. The BOE slashed its forecast for business investment in updated economic forecasts last week. Purchasing managers’ surveys added to the dismal picture, with firms in all sectors saying Brexit is damping their outlook. Carney said companies were “understandably” delaying investment, but that removing the risk of no deal could help unleash the wave of pent-up investment referred to by Hammond in his budget speech.
Asia:
Trade Supply Chains, Kissinger and the Trump Effect: NEF Takeaways
Henry Kissinger, the 95-year-old foreign policy guru, had a blunt message for the packed audience of business leaders, diplomats and academics gathered to listen: if the U.S. and China don’t sort out their growing rivalry, they risk destroying the world order. “If the world order becomes defined by continuous conflict between the U.S. and China, sooner or later it risks getting out of control,” Kissinger said on Tuesday at the forum, which was organized by Bloomberg Media Group, a division of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News. The former secretary of state to President Richard Nixon was positive that a worst-case scenario could be avoided. “The objective needs to be that both countries recognize that a fundamental conflict between them will destroy hope for the world order,” he said. “That objective can be achieved and I am in fact fairly optimistic that it will be achieved.” A top deputy to Chinese President Xi Jinping said Beijing remained ready to discuss a trade solution with the U.S., but cautioned the country wouldn’t again be “bullied and oppressed” by foreign powers.