Yahoo Finance Stocks- U.S. Futures Inch Forward as U.S.-China Trade Talks in Focus
Investing.com – U.S. futures pointed to a slightly higher opening bell on Thursday as the prospect of U.S.-China trade talks were in focus.
The S&P 500 futures rose 3 points or 0.13% to 2,892.25 as of 6:50 AM ET (10:50 GMT) while Dow futures gained 38 points, or 0.15%, to 26,052.0. Meanwhile tech heavy Nasdaq 100 futures increased 22 points, or 0.29%, to 7,507.75.
China welcomed an invitation from the U.S. to hold trade talks later this month in an effort to stave off new tariffs.
U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened impose tariffs on almost all Chinese imports, or about $467 billion in goods, while China is planning to ask the WTO for permission to impose sanctions on the U.S. at a meeting next week.
Central banks are also in focus, with the Bank of England keepting interest rates unchanged at 0.75%, as expected. The European Central Bank releases its interest rate decision at 7:45 AM ET (11:45 GMT) and is also expected to keep interest rates at current levels.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) inched up 0.35% in premarket trading after releasing its new iPhone and watch, while Chinese e-commerce giant Jd.Com Inc Adr (NASDAQ:JD) surged 2.24% and medical marijuana company Tilray Inc (NASDAQ:TLRY) gained 5.76%.
ElsewhereMazor Robotics Ltd (NASDAQ:MZOR) fell 1.99% while cruise ship company Carnival (NYSE:CCL) was down 1.28% as Hurricane Florence heading to the east coast and Tropical Storm Isaac impacted weather in the eastern Caribbean.
In economic news, consumer prices will be released at 8:30 AM ET (12:30 GMT), while jobless claims come out at the same time.
In Europe stocks were mixed. Germany’s DAX rose 51 points or 0.43% while in France the CAC 40 was up 8 points or 0.17% and in London the FTSE 100 decreased 26 points or 0.36%. Meanwhile the pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 gained 6 points or 0.20% while Spain’s IBEX 35 inched down 2 points or 0.03%.
In commodities, gold futures fell 0.04% to $1,210.40 a troy ounce while crude oil futures slumped 1.32% to $69.44 a barrel. The U.S. dollar index which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, increased 0.08% to 94.90.
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