China's president supported free trade and said the 'Cold War mentality' is outdated
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) are more than 350 points above fair value, after Chinese President Xi Jinping signaled free trade in the country's manufacturing and financial sectors, said Beijing would strengthen intellectual property protection, and warned against a "Cold War mentality" in his speech at the Boao Forum for Asia. The message is being seen as conciliatory toward U.S.-China trade tensions that have sent global markets on a roller-coaster ride in recent weeks, with auto stocks notably higher ahead of the bell. This is helping ease anxiety surrounding yesterday's FBI office raid of President Donald Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen. And ahead of the first day of Facebook (FB) CEO Mark Zuckerberg's congressional testimony, its stock is up 0.4% in electronic trading, while futures on the Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are also higher.
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Stocks in Asia closed higher today, as investor confidence received a boost from Chinese President Xi's conciliatory tone on trade. In response, both China's Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 1.7%. South Korea's Kospi bounced back from early losses to finish 0.3% higher, led by a 4% pop for Samsung C&T on reports -- since denied -- that the company was looking to buy a 30% stake in its biopharmaceutical affiliate. Lastly, Japan's Nikkei added 0.5% thanks to a weaker yen and a bump from steel stocks, with JFE Holdings rising 3% and Kobe Steel tacking on 2%.
European stocks are higher at midday amid cooling tensions between U.S. and China, causing basic resources stocks to surge. London's FTSE 100 is 0.6% higher at last check, thanks to a nearly 5% rally from Anglo American. The French CAC 40 is sporting a 0.4% gain, as luxury retailer LVMH soars 4.3% after strong demand from the Chinese market led to better-than-expected first-quarter sales growth. Elsewhere, the German DAX is up 0.7%, with Bayer AG adding 2%.