Modest Open Likely For US Markets: Oil Price Down

Modest open likely for U.S. markets Thursday after Dow Jones index was looking down on Thursday morning while other stock indices were up.

Investors moved attention to the upcoming meeting between President Donald Trump and China president Xi Jinping and China trade talks.

At 6:50 a.m. ET, Dow futures indicated a negative open of more than 50 points. Futures on the S&P and Nasdaq were high.

The dip in Dow Jones futures had a Boeing factor as well. The aircraft maker’s shares fell sharply after the Federal Aviation Administration mentioned that there is an issue needing corrective action before the 737 Max is allowed to fly again.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Xi will present Trump a set of terms that China expects from the U.S. before Beijing moves ahead to settle the contentious trade war.

On the data front, GDP prices, and weekly jobless claims figures are expected by 8:30 a.m. ET.

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Accenture, Nike, and Smart Global are the companies reporting their latest quarterly results on Thursday.

Asian markets up

Asia Pacific shares jumped on Thursday as hopes of a trade agreement between the United States and China increased ahead of a meeting between top leaders on Saturday. China’s Shanghai Composite index jumped 0.69 percent.

President Trump has said a deal with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping is possible. At the same time, he will not hesitate to impose U.S. tariffs on all remaining Chinese imports if disagreements persist.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.19 percent while the Topix index added 1.23 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 1.36 percent.

South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.59 percent while Australia’s ASX 200 rose 0.39 percent.

A report in the South China Morning Post claimed that the United States and China have informally agreed on a truce ahead of the Xi Trump conclave.

European stocks, mainly the Stoxx 600 index fell 0.3 percent after a positive start to the trading session. The G20 summit and Sino-U.S trade talk’s renewal did not lift the sentiments drastically. Retail stocks surged while the losses were led by media sector stocks.

Oil price falls

The oil price fell on Thursday, after losing the gains made on Wednesday. Brent crude futures lost 44 cents, at $66.05 by 0059 GMT.

The U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures lost 41 cents at $58.97 per barrel.

On Wednesday, oil prices surged more than 2 percent and hit the highest level in a month, buoyed by the U.S. government data that showed a bigger drop in crude stocks.

The oil market is now weighed by concerns whether the G20 summit will lead to a breakthrough on trade. Perceptions exist that ample supply is available even if the upcoming meet of OPEC decides to continue production cuts to support prices.

“A complete breakdown of the TrumpXi talks will have a negative impact on the financial markets and also on oil, but the sell-off in risky assets should be short-lived,” commented Tamas Varga of oil broker PVM.

After the G20 summit, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia will hold a meeting from Monday for two days to discuss prolonging the production cuts to shore up prices further.

Gold price slips

Gold prices slipped on Thursday. It had a steep fall in the last session on Wednesday. This followed investors turning focus to the U.S.--China trade developments and dimming expectations around the U.S. interest rate cuts. The blunted safe-haven appeal and hit the demand for the yellow metal.

Spot gold fell 0.2 percent at $1,406.21 per ounce as of 0529 GMT. The U.S. gold futures were down 0.4 percent at $1,409.60 an ounce.