SYDNEY — Shares in Asia firmed on Thursday after US President Donald Trump flagged a first trade deal in his global tariff war, while the dollar tried to hold overnight gains as markets pushed out the chance of near-term rate cuts.
S&P 500 futures erased earlier losses to be up 0.5 percent while Nasdaq futures rose 0.7 percent. The pan-European STOXX 600 index climbed 0.7 percent and FTSE futures gained 0.5 percent.
Trump said late on Wednesday that he would announce details about a major trade deal with an unspecified country at a press conference later in the day. The New York Times reported that the deal was with Britain.
The president’s comments came as investors anxiously await planned trade talks between Washington and Beijing on Saturday, which could mark the first step in resolving a potentially damaging trade war between the world’s top two economies.
Markets are also keeping their eyes peeled on the Bank of England’s policy meeting later in the day where expectations are for a quarter-point rate cut. Additionally, central banks in Sweden and Norway are due to deliver their latest policy decisions, although no moves are expected.
Overnight, in a widely expected decision, the Federal Reserve left policy rate in the 4.25 percent-4.5 percent range, but said the risks of higher inflation and unemployment had risen. Chair Jerome Powell said it isn’t clear if the economy will continue its steady pace of growth, or wilt under mounting uncertainty and a possible coming spike in inflation.
Markets scaled back the chance of a June rate cut to just 20 percent, from 30 percent a day earlier, while a move in July is now priced at 70 percent, compared with a near-certainty just a week ago.
