Investing.com -- Deals are in the air everywhere: there's the scent of at least a temporary and partial de-escalation between the U.S. and China, "promising signals" of a deal to ensure a smooth Brexit (according to the EU) and banks are set to put a price on the deal of the decade: Saudi Aramco's initial public offering. The bad news? An Iranian oil tanker has reportedly been attacked in the Red Sea, sending oil prices sharply higher. Here's what you need to know in financial markets on Friday, 11th October.
1. U.S.-China trade deal in the offing?
President Donald Trump said that the first day of trade talks between the U.S. and China had been a “very, very good negotiation”, raising hopes for at least a partial and temporary truce in the trade conflict between the two countries.
Trump is due to meet China’s top negotiator Liu He later Friday, something that previous reports have suggested would only happen if there are substantial agreements in the talks.
The Wall Street Journal reported that a range of elements could form the basis for a temporary deal, including the suspension of planned increases in U.S. tariffs, a relaxation of the U.S. boycott of Huawei, and more Chinese purchases of agricultural products. Some form of commitment from China on not devaluing its currency has also been mooted, but would be unlikely to have any real teeth, analysts say.
2. "Promising signals" on Brexit
The British pound soared and pulled European stocks along with it on hopes that the U.K. and EU will agree an amicable divorce at the end of the month.
Talks between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Irish counterpart Leo Varadkar on Thursday produced what the two called a “pathway to a deal”, which EU Council President Donald Tusk welcomed in a formal statement on Friday.
However, Tusk warned that “there is no guarantee of success and the time is practically up” as regards getting a deal in place. Technical talks between the U.K. and the EU’s top negotiator Michel Barnier are ongoing at the moment of writing.
3. Stocks set to jump at open
Wall Street is set to open sharply higher on the back of a double boost from the U.S.-China trade talks and Brexit. Higher oil prices may also give a lift to U.S. producer stocks.
By 6 AM ET, Dow futures were up 244 points, or 0.9%, while S&P 500 futures were up 28% or 0.9% and Nasdaq futures were up 1.1%.
The third-quarter earnings season is slowly grinding into first gear, with Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) and Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) due to report before the bell.
Overnight, SAP (OTC:SAPGF), Europe’s largest software company, surged nearly 9% after reporting a sharp rise in cloud bookings in the quarter.
4. Oil surges as Iran blames Saudi Arabia for tanker explosion
An Iranian oil tanker was set alight in the Red Sea early Friday, sending crude oil prices 2% higher.
Iranian state news blamed the explosion on an attack by two missiles launched from Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabian officials haven't commented.
The incident comes less than a month after Saudi Arabia blamed Iran for an attack on key oil installations in its country and a string of attacks on tankers in the Persian Gulf.
The news more than overshadowed a regular report from the International Energy Agency, which cut its forecast for global oil growth in 2020.
5. Bankers to put a price on Aramco
The world’s most valuable company may finally get a firm valuation proposition on Friday, as bankers deliver their estimates for what Saudi Arabia’s national oil company could fetch at IPO.
The Wall Street Journal reported that bankers are set to give Saudi Aramco a valuation of around $1.5 trillion, well below the $2 trillion initially sought by the desert kingdom’s de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM), Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) are among the banks vying for business placing the shares. However, the first tranche of the placement is likely to be an exclusively domestic listing. An international listing – probably in Tokyo – is slated for a later date, according to various reports.