Oil prices hold sharp losses with focus on secondary India tariffs
By David Randall
NEW YORK, May 30 (Reuters) - World stock markets climbed for
the first time this week on Thursday, giving pause to a multiday
selloff on fears of an escalating trade war between the United
States and China that has pushed investors into safe-haven bonds
and the U.S. dollar.
Signs that the year-long trade dispute between the U.S. and
China will not be resolved quickly and concerns over its impact
on global growth have roiled markets, sending stock indexes into
their most turbulent month of the year so far.
"We oppose a trade war but are not afraid of a trade war,"
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Hanhui said on Thursday in
Beijing, when asked about the tensions with the United States.
"This kind of deliberately provoking trade disputes is naked
economic terrorism, economic chauvinism, economic bullying."
His comments followed reports from Chinese newspapers that
Beijing could use its rare earth supplies as a bargaining chip https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-rareearth-explainer/explainer-chinas-rare-earth-supplies-could-be-vital-bargaining-chip-in-u-s-trade-war-idUSKCN1T00EK
to strike back at Washington after U.S. President Donald Trump
remarked he was "not yet ready" to make a deal with China over
trade.
Rare earths are elements used in production in industries
such as renewable energy technology, oil refinery, electronics
and glass. There have been concerns that China, a key exporter
of rare earths to the United States, may use that fact as
leverage in the trade spat.
"People are trying to figure out how much of the bad news is
already priced in. The trade war looks like it might dampen
growth but not enough to throw us into a recession," said Scott
Brown, chief economist at Raymond James in St. Petersburg,
Florida.
"There has been talk about the Fed possibly cutting rates
and that is a little bit positive for the stock market."
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS
gained 0.34%.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose
65.06 points, or 0.26%, to 25,191.47, the S&P 500 .SPX gained
12.2 points, or 0.44%, to 2,795.22 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC added 39.48 points, or 0.52%, to 7,586.79.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX rose 0.48%.
German Bund yields climbed for the first time in four days
after hitting record lows and Treasury yields climbed. Money
markets are now pricing in roughly two U.S. rate cuts by the
start of next year as trade worries weigh on the global economy.
The dollar index .DXY , tracking the greenback against six
major currencies, was steady at 98.113 and in reach of a
two-year peak of 98.371 set last week.
"The strength in the dollar is surprising given that markets
are now expecting multiple rate cuts by 2020," Commerzbank FX
strategist Ulrich Leuchtmann said.
Oil prices traded in a tight range after an industry report
showed a decline in U.S. crude inventories that exceeded analyst
expectations. O/R
That followed volatile trading on Wednesday, when oil prices
fell to near three-month lows at one point as trade war fears
gripped the commodity markets.
U.S. crude futures CLc1 were up 0.25% at $58.96 per barrel
after brushing $56.88 the previous day, their lowest since March
12. Brent crude LCOc1 was flat at $69.13 per barrel.
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Global assets in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl
Global currencies vs. dollar http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
Global bonds dashboard (DO NOT USE UNTIL UPDATE FOUND) http://tmsnrt.rs/2fPTds0
Emerging markets in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2ihRugV
MSCI All Country Wolrd Index Market Cap http://tmsnrt.rs/2EmTD6j
EXPLAINER-China's rare earth supplies could be vital bargaining
chip in U.S. trade war ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>