U.S. Stock Futures Rise on China Trade Talk Hopes
By Dow Jones Newswires StaffU.S. stock futures were up in Europe after gains on Wall Street on Wednesday as the U.S. and China firmed up plans that could kick off more expansive trade talks, and the Federal Reserve stood pat on interest rates while indicating a cautious approach going forward.Further buoying sentiment Thursday was the prospect that the Trump administration will later announce a trade-deal framework with the U.K. Global stock markets were up along with the dollar, while gold eased from recent highs. Ahead, the Bank of England is expected to cut rates for a fourth time.U.S. stock futures for the S&P 500 were last up 0.7%, with those for the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.5% and the Nasdaq up 0.9%.In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 climbed 0.3% in morning trading, France's CAC 40 gained 0.5% and Germany's DAX was up 0.7%. The U.K. FTSE 100 index of blue chips rose 0.2%. The U.K. is hoping to get a reduction on the 25% tariffs the U.S. is levying on steel and automobiles, while the Bank of England is expected to cut its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 4.25% at 1102 GMT.Sterling rose against the euro while trading flat against the dollar. The euro was recently down 0.1% to 0.8492 pounds, while against a stronger dollar sterling was flat at $1.3291. The DXY dollar index against a basket of major currencies rose 0.5% to 100.065. The Swedish krona stayed weaker against the euro after Sweden's central bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 2.25%, as expected.Ahead of the U.S. Treasury's $25 billion auction of new 30-year bonds, the 30-year Treasury yield last traded at 4.790%, up 2 basis points, according to Tradeweb. The 10-year Treasury yield was up almost 2 basis points to last trade at 4.292%.Gold futures were down early in Europe on the stronger U.S. dollar and the broader risk-on sentiment. Continuous futures were last down 1.2% at $3,351.50 a troy ounce. Oil prices ticked higher supported by optimism over upcoming trade talks between Washington and Beijing. Brent crude was up 0.4% to $61.34 a barrel.In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 index gained 0.4%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 0.4% and China's benchmark Shanghai Composite gained 0.3%.Write to Barcelona Editors at [email protected]