Global Markets Edge Higher, Trades Hopes Are Stoked, Weak Data Points To Further Slowing

The U.S. Market Is Moving Up In Early Trading

The U.S. market is moving up in early trading after trade hopes were stoked by Larry Kudlow. Kudlow, Chief Economic Advisor to the White House, says a Phase 1 Deal is getting closer. Even so, the two sides are still hung up on a couple of sticking points including agricultural purchases and the rollback of tariffs. The Dow Jones is up about 0.35% in early Friday trading while the S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite are slightly higher.

In economic news, a raft of U.S. data was released this morning and all of it weak. In consumer news, Retail Sales grew 0.3% over the last month and only half as fast as expected. Retail sales are up 3.1% YOY and 3.8% YTD. In manufacturing news, the Empire State manufacturing survey came in at 2.9 and half the expectation. Later in the day traders will be on the lookout for Industrial Production figures.

European Markets Are Mixed At Midday

The EU markets are mixed at midday following news from the U.S. and UK. In the U.S., trade hopes are driving bullish sentiment while in the UK threats to nationalize public utilities is capping gains. The UK main opposition party has declared it will seek to nationalize telecom giant BT, shares of that stock are down more than -2.25%. The FTSE 100 is the only major index in the red today, it’s down about -0.40%. The DAX and CAC are up about 0.30%.

In economic news, EU inflation slowed over the last month. Eurozone inflation came in at 0.7% versus the 0.8% reported in the previous month. The news is as expected and supports the ECBs dovish policy stance. Shares of SEB fell to the bottom of the EU rankings after it shed -13% of its value. The move is due to televised reports of evidence the bank is involved in money laundering.

Asian Markets Are Mixed At The End Of The Week

Asian markets closed out the week mixed following a roller-coaster ride of sentiment. Markets were at once lifted by positive sentiment and weighed down by fears the trade deal won’t happen. Even so, most markets eked out a gain on Friday and that led by South Korea. The South Korean Kospi advanced 1.05% on strength in chipmaker SK Hynix. The Australian ASX and Japanese Nikkei both closed with gains near 0.75% while the Hong Kong Hang Seng held near break-even. The Shanghai Composite is the only major index to post a loss and that -0.64%.