Futures higher with G20 summit, inflation data in focus

[June 28, 2019]  By Shreyashi Sanyal

(Reuters) - U.S. equity futures rose on Friday amid growing caution ahead of a crucial meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping and the release of inflation data that could feed into the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates next month.

Trump said he hoped for productive talks with the Chinese president on their trade war, but said he had not made any promises about a reprieve from escalating tariffs.

Trump and Xi are set to meet on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit this weekend in Japan, where the two sides will try to resolve a dispute that has hit global growth.

However, hopes of a deal were muddied by a report on Thursday saying Xi would give Trump a set of conditions to be met by Washington before reaching any settlement. Sentiment was also dampened by a threat that the United States may move ahead with further tariffs on Chinese goods after the weekend summit.

The uncertainty in markets caused by conflicting reports on trade in the build up to the G20 meet stalled a rally in stocks this month, and set the bellwether S&P 500 index <.SPX> on pace to post its first weekly loss in June.

Still, hopes that the Fed is ready to counter slowing growth have helped lift the benchmark index to a record high last week.

At 7:10 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis <1YMcv1> were up 64 points, or 0.24%. S&P 500 e-minis <EScv1> were up 6 points, or 0.2% and Nasdaq 100 e-minis <NQcv1> were up 4.5 points, or 0.06%.
 

 Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., June 5, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

Large-cap U.S. banks rose between 1.5% to 2.5% in premarket trading after the Fed on Thursday approved capital plans of 16 banks, including JPMorgan Chase & CO <JPM.N>, Bank of America Corp <BAC.N> and Citigroup Inc <C.N>, in its final stress test hurdle.

Investors awaited a reading of consumer prices as measured by the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index for May, which is expected to rise 0.4% from 0.3% in April.

The data, set to be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, is expected to show that the PCE price index, excluding the volatile food and energy components, remained at 0.2% in May, the same as April.

Apple Inc <AAPL.O> dipped 0.6% after the company said Jony Ive, a close creative collaborator with the iPhone maker's co-founder Steve Jobs, will leave later this year.

Nike Inc <NKE.N> edged 0.4% lower after the world's largest sportswear missed analysts' estimates for quarterly profit on Thursday, as the company spent more on marketing and new product launches.

(Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal and Amy Caren Daniel in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)

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