Markets Mixed on Thursday After Huge Gains in Asia

LONDON, U.K. – Despite the mostly positive trading session in the Asian market on Thursday, the US and UK stock futures changed very little as market players continue to monitor the possibility of removing the scheduled tariff increase on Chinese imports this month.

Treasuries started to regain its losses from the previous trading session following reports that said the US and China are still on track with closing the partial trade agreement, which market players hope would mean that the next tariff hike can be avoided.

Japanese shares closed the Asian trading session a bit high, but still down from its recent highs. Shanghai and Hong Kong stocks also ended with gains, while the Korean stocks fell. Indian bonds also fell following the central bank of India, leaving the interest rates unchanged, and the dollar was little changed during the Asian session.

According to the chief global market strategist at Invesco Ltd., Kristina Hooper, there is likely a more stable stock market if the tariff increase on Chinese exports set on December 15 can be avoided. She also said that any negative headline one trade talks could be a major spoiler that could break the solid month for the stock market.

In Japan, the major stock gains were for steel and iron stocks, which followed after the Japanese government announced a stimulus package of around $239 billion (26 trillion yen) to help support the economic growth in the country.

In front of the stocks, the S&P 500 is going towards a 0.1% increase as of 7:11 a.m. London time. The Euro Stoxx 50 futures also gained around 0.2%, while the Topix index in Japan marked a 0.5% increase, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong added around 0.6% and a 0.7% advance for the Shanghai Composite index.

In the currencies front, the British pound gained up to 0.2% towards $1.3127, while the euro stayed in the range at $1.1082. The yen was also very little changed at its current 108.86 per dollar, while the yuan held stronger from its previous advance at 7.0468 against the dollar.

In commodities, the gold price dipped from its gains from the previous session as is currently trading around $1476.19, and the crude oil has slipped to a decline of around 0.2% towards $58.34 per barrel.

With the market mixed on Thursday, market players are still waiting on some key events that could determine if most stocks will end the week on a more positive note, or not. Key events for the market this week include the initial public offering of Saudi Aramco on Thursday and the US jobs report on Friday.