Futures Fall As Uncertainty Grips The Market, Brexit Deal Elusive, China Trade Data Falls

The U.S. Futures Are Down In Early Trading

The U.S. futures are down in early trading despite positive developments on trade. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, NASDAQ Composite, and S&P 500 are all down about -0.55% in early trading. Tech is in the lead. The trade deal, announced on Friday, is an interim stop-gap measure intended to produce a three-phase solution. The first phase includes China increasing its purchases of agricultural products, a pledge the country has made several times in the past. In exchange, the U.S. will postpone or delay tariffs scheduled to take effect later this week.

While both sides have hailed the deal as good there is still no actual document and details are sketchy. China’s Vice Premier Liu He says he will be back to Washington this month to hammer out those details before President Xi will sign any deal. China is expected to purchase up to $50 billion in U.S. agriculture products with those purchases ramping up over the next few weeks. The timeline to end the trade war is now 15 months. Secretary of the Treasury Mnuchin says the October tariffs will go into effect in December if China reneges on its agreements.

In business news, this week begins the peak of 3rd quarter earnings. We are expecting reports from the big banks this week, they are expected to post EPS declines. In economic news, we are expecting several key reads from the Federal Reserve. Also on tap, Retail Sales, the Beige Book, Housing Starts, and the Index of Leading Indicators.

European Indices Are Down With A Case Of Uncertainty

EU indices are down at midday due to a growing case of uncertainty. The trade-deal that is not yet a deal remains a key point of uncertainty as does the Brexit. Brexit negotiators were unable to reach a deal over the weekend raising doubts a solution to the Irish-Backstop can be found. The Queen is expected to deliver her speech to open Parliament today. In it, she will outline the governments plans for Brexit.

The French CAC is leading decliners in early trading with a loss of -0.75% while the DAX and FTSE are both trailing with losses close to -0.50%. In stock news, shares of biopharma company Chr. Hansen rebound 3.8% after last week’s massive selloff.

Asian Markets Rebound Despite Trade Uncertainty

Asian markets are broadly higher after Monday’s session as trade hope fuels optimism. The Shanghai Composite and Korean Kospi both advanced more than 1.1% while the Hong Kong Hang Seng and Australian ASX gained 0.80% and 0.50%. Japan was closed for a holiday. In South Korea chipmakers Samsung and SK Hynix led the advance.