European Shares Seen Tad Higher As Trump Seeks To Ease US-China Tensions

(RTTNews) - European stocks are seen opening a tad higher on Monday as investors react to a flurry of U.S.-China news.

U.S. stock futures rebounded Sunday night after U.S. President Donald Trump said that he thinks the U.S. relationship with China will be "fine" and the U.S. wants to help China, not hurt it.

Trump said the Nov. 1 deadline is an "eternity," but could advance the date if China takes further actions.

Separately, U.S. Vice President JD Vance told Fox News that President Trump is willing to pursue reasonable negotiations with China, but all options remain open, including the removal of Chinese companies from the U.S. market.

Beijing said that it would surely take resolute measures to protect its legitimate rights and interests if the United States insists on going the wrong way.

Data showed earlier today that China's exports rose 8.3 percent year-on-year in September, the fastest since March, giving Beijing a stronger hand in the latest trade war with the U.S.

Imports also grew far more than forecast, rising 7.4 percent and leaving a surplus of $90.5 billion.

Meanwhile, Trump has started firing thousands of federal workers while assuring the military will be paid during the shutdown, which has now entered its third week.

Congress remains deadlocked on a funding plan and the Senate isn't scheduled to hold any votes until Tuesday. Oct. 15 is the next pay date for most federal workers, and possibly the first that many employees will miss.

With most major U.S. economic data indefinitely postponed due to the shutdown, this week's trading may be impacted by reaction to remarks by several Federal Reserve officials, including Fed Chair Jerome Powell on October 14.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has revealed the report on consumer price inflation that had been due to be released next Wednesday will now be released on Friday, October 24th.

Markets currently price in nearly a 97 percent chance that the Federal Reserve (Fed) cuts rates by 25 basis points (bps) at its October meeting.

The possibility of an additional reduction in December is at 92 percent, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

In corporate news, Oracle's AI World conference starts today. Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Taiwan Semiconductor, JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs are due to report their quarterly earnings this week.

Asian markets fell across the board, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng tumbling nearly 3 percent on Sino-U.S. trade tensions.

Yields hovered near multi-week lows in the wake of Trump's tariff threat and expectations of more rate cuts from the Federal Reserve.

Gold hit a fresh record high at $4,059 an ounce, reflecting demand for safe-haven assets amid U.S. shutdown worries, trade war concerns, and lingering fiscal and political uncertainty in countries like France and Japan.

Oil prices rose more than 1 percent after settling down nearly 4 percent on Friday to the lowest since May 7.

U.S. stocks plunged on Friday in a rout that wiped out $2 trillion in market value. Markets sank as President Trump accused China of "becoming very hostile" and threatened to impose an additional 100 percent tariffs on imports from China from November 1 against the country's expansion of export controls on rare earths.

Trump's tariff threat came after China added new port fees on American ships and launched an antitrust investigation into Qualcomm (QCOM).

Trump said he would no longer meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in South Korea, because "now there seems to be no reason to do so."

Also weighing on markets, a survey showed Americans are concerned about jobs prospects and high inflation.

The S&P 500 tumbled 2.7 percent in its largest sell-off since April, when the stock market was reeling from the shock of Trump's initial tariff announcement.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 3.6 percent and the narrower Dow slumped 1.9 percent.

European stocks also tumbled on Friday after a last-minute sell-off sparked by trade concerns and France's deepening political crisis.

The pan-European STOXX 600 gave up 1.3 percent. The German DAX and France's CAC 40 both lost around 1.5 percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 shed 0.9 percent.