US Markets
Equity Futures Rise as Trump, Xi Kick Off High-Stakes Meeting
US equity markets were tracking in the green before the opening bell Thursday as President Donald Trump held talks with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, at a high-stakes meeting in Beijing.The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq rose 0.2% each in premarket activity, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.6%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq reached fresh peaks at Wednesday's close, while the Dow finished lower.Trump and Xi have agreed to develop a "constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability," according to a readout of the summit by the Chinese foreign ministry. "This will provide strategic guidance for China-US relations over the next three years and beyond," the readout showed.The relationship between the two countries is going to be "better than ever before," Trump told Xi in his opening remarks, CNBC reported, citing official broadcast footage.The leaders of the two global economic heavyweights agreed that the crucial Strait of Hormuz should remain open to support global energy flows, multiple news outlets reported. During their talks, Xi showed interest in buying more US oil to reduce China's dependence on the Strait of Hormuz and other Middle East shipping routes, according to news reports.West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 0.2% at $100.80 a barrel before the open, while Brent was slightly in the red at $105.61.On Wednesday, the International Energy Agency forecast a sharper decline in global oil demand this year than previously expected as the Middle East conflict drives up energy prices. Separately, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries reduced its global oil demand growth outlook for 2026, but upgraded its projection for next year.Also on Wednesday, official data showed that US producer prices rose at the fastest pace in four years in April as broad-based increases in services and goods signaled intensifying inflation pressures.Treasury yields were down in premarket action, with the two-year rate retreating 2.1 basis points to 3.97% and the 10-year rate off 2.2 basis point to 4.46%.Thursday's economic calendar has the weekly jobless claims bulletin at 8:30 am ET, along with the retail sales and import and export prices reports, both for April.Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr is scheduled to speak at 7 pm. Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid, Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, and New York Fed President John Williams all speak earlier in the day.On Wednesday, Boston Fed President Susan Collins said she expected the central bank to maintain its current monetary policy stance, describing it as "slightly restrictive."The US Senate confirmed Kevin Warsh's nomination as Fed chair Wednesday. Warsh is Trump's pick for the job, with the term of current central bank chief Jerome Powell set to expire on Friday.Cisco Systems (CSCO) shares jumped 17% pre-bell Thursday. Late Wednesday, Cisco's fiscal third-quarter results exceeded Wall Street's estimates, while the networking equipment maker announced a restructuring plan that involves thousands of layoffs.Marvell Technology (MRVL) added 3.8% pre-bell after closing the previous session with an 8.2% gain.Nvidia (NVDA) was 1.8% higher in premarket activity after Reuters reported that the US has cleared around 10 Chinese firms to buy the technology giant's H200 artificial intelligence chip. However, not a single delivery has been made so far, according to the report.Applied Materials (AMAT) is scheduled to release its latest quarterly financial results after the markets close. Viking (VIK), Klarna (KLAR), Bullish (BLSH) and Yeti (YETI) report before the bell, among others.Gold edged down 0.1% to $4,703 per troy ounce, while bitcoin nudged up 0.1% to $79,599.
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