Topline
U.S. stock futures and global markets bounced up early on Wednesday morning after President Donald Trump said he expects trade talks with Beijing could lead to “substantially” lower tariffs on Chinese goods, marking the first major sign of a potential de-escalation in the ongoing trade war between the world’s two largest economies.
President Donald Trump listens during a ceremonial swearing in of Paul Atkins as chairman of the … More
Key Facts
Dow Futures were up 656.00 points or 1.6% in the premarket, while S&P 500 Futures rose 113 points or 2.1%.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq futures surged by more 2.5%, rising to 18,852.25 points.
Asian markets also reacted positively to Trump’s suggestion of a climb-down in tariffs, with the Hong Kong-based Hang Seng index rising 2.37%, while Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose nearly 1.9%.
European markets also opened strongly on Wednesday morning, with the London Stock Exchange’s FTSE 100 index rising 1.5%, while the pan-European STOXX Europe 50 index was up 2.2%.
The price of Bitcoin, which has been trending up in the past week despite market turmoil, also continued its upward trend by rising $94,175—up more than 6.5% in 24 hours.
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What Did Trump Say About Lowering China Tariffs?
Speaking to reporters at the Oval Office on Tuesday evening, Trump said he expects Chinese President Xi Jinping to come to the table to negotiate a trade deal and said he plans to be “very nice” to China during negotiations. “We’re going to be very nice. They’re going to be very nice, and we’ll see what happens…But ultimately, they have to make a deal…and we want them involved.” Addressing his 145% tariffs on all Chinese imports, Trump acknowledged that the number was “very high” and said: “It won’t be anywhere near that high. It’ll come down substantially. But it won’t be zero.”
