U.S. Opening Bell: U.S. Futures Defy Mounting China, Iran Risks; Oil Climbs

 | Jun 24, 2019 11:16

  • U.S. futures buck growing U.S. tensions with China, Iran
  • Europe slides on business pessimism
  • FedEx-Huawei mishap, Hong Kong civil rights issue add to U.S.-China sticking points ahead of G20 summit
  • Oil extends rally on U.S.-Iran spat escalation
  • h2 Key Events/h2

    Futures on the S&P 500, Dow and NASDAQ 100 attempted to defy increasing geopolitical risks this morning—ahead of a much-anticipated meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping and amid further escalation of the U.S.-Iran standoff. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo signaled the U.S. would pursue new sanctions and a "global coalition" against the Middle East oil producer on Monday, in the face of recent oil tankers and drones attacks—thereby further boosting WTI prices.

    The STOXX 600 slid for a second day after after a profit warning by Mercedes-Benz maker Daimler (DE:DAIGn) and a dip in German business confidence to the lowest level since 2014 dampened sentiment. Even more impactful news came from China, which is seeking clarifications from FedEx (NYSE:FDX) on temporarily halting shipping of Huawei products. The Chinese telecom giant accused FedEx of a “vendetta” after the courier refused to deliver P30 Pro phones from the U.K. to the U.S. FedEx now runs the risk of being blacklisted by China as an “unreliable entity,” thereby adding fuel to the fire of a prolonged trade spat between the world’s two largest economies that saw a new peak in May when the White House barred U.S. firms from doing business with Huawei without a special licence.

    As if that wasn't enough, the U.S. added five Chinese companies operating in supercomputing with military-related applications to its trade blacklist on Friday, citing national security.

    Another stumbling block in U.S.-China relations is the thorny Hong Kong's extradition bill issue. China said on Monday it passes new legislation to sanction their country's government .

    In the earlier session, Asian shares were spared from the latest diplomatic salvo, with news on FedEx only becoming available to the public later in the day. All the major regional indices closed in the green on hopes that a Trump-Xi meeting during the G20 summit will mark a bottom to the past year's trade-led selloffs.

    Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 outperformed rising 0.22%, with China’s Shanghai Composite right behind with a 0.21% gain—to the the highest level in almost eight weeks. Japan's Nikkei climbed 0.13%.

    The MSCI Asia-Pacific index outside Japan edged 0.2% higher, hovering not far from Thursday's six-week high.

    Meanwhile, another stumbling block in U.S.-China relations is the thorny Hong Kong's extradition bill issue. China said on Monday it passes new legislation to sanction their country's government .

    h2 Global Financial Affairs/h2
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    The S&P 500 slipped from an all-time high on Friday, raising the potential for a correction.