We’ve been here before. No doubt we will be here again.
The markets took another tumble on Thursday, a week of increasingly negative headlines regarding the US-China trade deal weighing heavy on the minds of investors.
A Reuters report suggested any phase one agreement may be pushed into 2020 – not least because Beijing and Washington remain split on a number of key topics, including the rolling back of tariffs and the treatment of Hong Kong. That latter issue was further put under the spotlight as the House of Representatives passed legislation designed to protect the rights of protestors in the region.
At the same time on Wednesday night you had Vice Premier Liu He claim in a dinner speech he was ‘cautiously optimistic’ about a deal, countering the rumours of Chinese pessimism that appeared on Monday. But even then that statement was muddied by reports that Liu told an attendee he was ‘confused’ by the US demands.
Attempting to put out some fires, China’s commerce ministry spokesman Gao Feng said on Thursday the country would strive for a deal. However this talk fell on deaf ears, investors losing patience with the lack of action.
The FTSE found itself sinking back to a one-month low of 7200 after shedding 0.9%, with the DAX losing the same amount, taking the German index the wrong side of 13050. The Dow Jones is currently facing a 0.3% loss this afternoon, though things could worsen between now and the US open.
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