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China denied it had offered to cut its trade surplus with the
United States by up to $200 billion, hours after it dropped an
anti-dumping probe into U.S. sorghum imports, but added that
talks were constructive.
The world's two biggest economies are seeking to bridge a divide
on trade issues during the two-day talks in Washington that
began on Thursday.
Oil prices continued their surge, with Brent crude <LCOc1> on
track for the sixth straight week of gains, boosted by strong
demand, looming sanctions on Iran, plummeting Venezuelan
production and Nigerian disruptions. [O/R]
At 7:19 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis <1YMc1> were up 58 points, or 0.23
percent. S&P 500 e-minis <ESc1> were up 3 points, or 0.11
percent and Nasdaq 100 e-minis <NQc1> were up 9.75 points, or
0.14 percent.
Investors have been fretting over rising interest rates, with
the 10-year Treasury yield, the benchmark for global borrowing
costs, holding above the key 3 percent level for the fourth day.
However, Bank of America Merrill Lynch said on Friday investors
pumped $11.9 billion into global equities in the past week and
also put money into bank loans, likely viewing the rise in U.S.
bond yields as reflecting a robustly growing economy.
Among stocks, Applied Materials <AMAT.O> fell 4.9 percent after
the chip gear maker's disappointing forecast renewed concerns
over slowing smartphone demand, while AMD <AMD.O> rose 2.6
percent after Cowen started coverage with an "outperform"
rating.
Mattel shares gained 3.7 percent on a Wall Street Journal report
that the company rejected Bratz dolls inventor Isaac Larian's
offer to merge his MGA Entertainment Inc with the Barbie doll
maker.
(Reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)
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