SINGAPORE — Stocks were buoyant and the dollar remained on guard on Tuesday as trade talks between the United States and China were set to extend to a second day, with tentative signs tensions between the world’s two largest economies could be easing.
U.S. President Donald Trump put a positive spin on the talks at Lancaster House in London, which wrapped up for the night on Monday and were set to resume on Tuesday.
“The fact that we’re still up here near record highs, does suggest that we are seeing the market accept what has been said by Trump and when you look at some of the other comments from Lutnick and Bessent, to me it seems to suggest that they are relatively happy with the progress,” said Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG.
“But the market always likes to see some concrete announcements.”
As Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer were set to meet for the second day with their Chinese counterparts, much of investors’ focus has been on the progress of the talks.
Any progress in the negotiations is likely to provide relief to markets given Trump’s chaotic tariffs and swings in Sino-U.S. trade ties have undermined the world’s two biggest economies and hobbled global growth.
Stocks advanced in Asia, extending their rise from the start of the week.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan advanced 0.5 percent, while Nasdaq futures gained 0.62 percent. S&P 500 futures edged 0.43 percent higher.
EUROSTOXX 50 futures and FTSE futures both added roughly 0.1 percent each.
