Wall Street jumps on optimism over U.S.-China trade talks
Global stocks rose Tuesday following a listless day on Wall Street as investors looked ahead to U.S.-Chinese trade talks. Investors are also focusing on efforts to avoid another government shutdown, which could potentially be averted after Congressional negotiators reached an "agreement in principle" on a spending deal, including border security.
On Wall Street, trading opened higher with the Dow Jones industrials rising 195 points, or about 0.8 percent, to 25,249. The S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite also rose 0.8 percent in early trading.
Market sentiment seems to have been bolstered somewhat by the deal reached in principle late Monday to avoid another bruising shutdown of the U.S. government. Details are set to be officially released Tuesday, but the Trump administration reportedly settled for a lower amount of funding for a barrier with Mexico in order to strike a deal.
The deal also reduces some uncertainty for investors as they focus on the trade war between the U.S. and China.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will lead a delegation to Beijing on Thursday for talks aimed at resolving a tariff war over American complaints about Chinese technology ambitions.
The dispute threatens to chill global economic growth. The talks are the last scheduled high-level meeting before an agreement by both sides to suspend further punitive action against each other's goods expires March 1.
"Investor sentiment remains cautious despite report suggesting that President Trump's advisers are discussing a potential summit with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping next month," Zhu Haini of Mizuho Bank said in a commentary.
In Tuesday trading overseas, London's FTSE 100 rose 0.1 percent to 7,136 and Germany's DAX gained 1.2 percent to 11,144, while France's CAC 40 advanced 1 percent to 5,062.
55 miles of border fencing
Traders also are watching the tense negotiations in Washington aimed at avoiding another government shutdown. The tentative deal reached Monday night would fund all seven remaining appropriations bills, includes $1.375 billion in funding for physical barriers along the Southern border -- in the form of 55 miles of bollard fencing -- and a reduction in overall Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention beds from the current 49,057 level to 40,520, according to a congressional aide.
In Asian trading on Tuesday, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 rose 2.6 percent to 20,864, and the Shanghai Composite Exchange added 0.7 percent to 2,672. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was 0.1 percent higher at 28,171, and Seoul's Kospi gained 0.4 percent to 2,190.
Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 advanced 0.3 percent to 6,079, and India's Sensex lost 0.2 percent to 36,303. New Zealand, Taiwan and Thailand rose while Singapore declined.
Benchmark U.S. crude gained $1.39 cents to $53.79 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract lost 31 cents on Monday to close at $52.41. Brent crude, used to price international oils, rose $1.58 in London to $63.08. It shed 59 cents the previous session to $61.51.
