Uncertain US-China trade negotiations prospects sap investor confidence

Risk-off trading in global equity markets dominated last week with hopes of US -China trade dispute resolution in near term fading despite President Trump’s words that lifting the ban on Huawei may be a part of overall trade deal with China. The S&P 500 deepened losses 1.2% and the ICE US dollar index turned 0.4% lower last week.

FTSE 100 joined five other major developed market stock indexes retreat. Nasdaq composite index recorded sharpest loss: it dropped 2.3%. Three out of six major currencies reversed previous week’s dynamics against the US dollar, while the range of major currency pairs’ weekly fluctuations almost halved as it shifted higher. The Australian dollar was the leader in terms of percentage change: it gained 1.0% against the US dollar.

Manufacturing and inflation data from China and US will be in focus this week. At the same time Bank of Canada key policy interest rate announcement will be released Thursday. While China’s official manufacturing PMI is expected to show a contraction due to the trade war with the US, US consumer spending and the Fed’s preferred core inflation gauge are expected to increase in April.