Futures edge higher on U.S.-China trade optimism

[September 26, 2019]  By Ambar Warrick and Medha Singh

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Thursday as positive comments from China on U.S. trade talks put a cap on this week's politically driven selling.

Shares in one of this year's market success stories, Beyond Meat <BYND.O>, surged another 11% as it added McDonald's Corp <MCD.N> to the list of clients for its plant-based patties.

The S&P 500 fell as much 1.1% on Tuesday on news that U.S. Democrats were planning an impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump, but recovered on Wednesday after Trump hinted at a sooner-than-expected trade deal with China. The benchmark index closed about 1.4% shy of its record high hit in late-July.
 

Beijing said on Thursday it was in close communication with the United States and was preparing to make progress with their trade talks in October.

"President Trump has a habit of changing his tune when it comes to China, so some traders might remain skeptical of the remarks," CMC Markets UK analyst David Madden said in a note to clients.

"We have heard this sort of commentary before, and it hasn't always worked out, but the mood is upbeat nonetheless."

Investors are also eyeing a final reading of U.S. economic growth for the second quarter at 8:30 a.m. ET (1230 GMT) that is expected to remain unchanged from initial estimates. Data on weekly jobless claims is also due at the same time.

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., September 18, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Trade-sensitive chipmakers rose in premarket trading, with Advanced Micro Devices Inc <AMD.O>, Micron Technology Inc <MU.O> and Nvidia Corp <NVDA.O> up between 0.1% and 0.5%. Micron is set to report its quarterly results later in the day.

At 7:05 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis <1YMcv1> were up 43 points, or 0.16%. S&P 500 e-minis <EScv1> were up 4 points, or 0.13% and Nasdaq 100 e-minis <NQcv1> were up 1.75 points, or 0.02%.

Facebook Inc <FB.O> slipped 1% as a person familiar with the matter told Reuters that the U.S. Justice Department will open an antitrust investigation of the social media company.

Leisure cruise operator Carnival Corp <CCL.N> dropped 2.4% before the release of its quarterly results.

(Reporting by Ambar Warrick and Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)

[© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2019 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.