US futures have been flip-flopping through the Asian session as sentiment continues to cool over the outcome of the trade talks with China. The US is angling for fresh restrictions which will again add weight to the idea that Beijing will come out on top here, although even the Shanghai index has been muted after Monday’s bumper rally.
There’s a whole slew of economic data due from the US today although the high point is likely to be Jerome Powell’s testimony to lawmakers in Washington, which could hold important clues over the outlook for US monetary policy for the remainder of the year. Markets are currently pricing in one rate cut towards the end of 2019 and it seems unlikely that any more than that should be necessary for now, given the proposed termination of quantitative tightening that’s also been mooted.
Consumer confidence data due after the opening bell could also provide some respite for stocks, with this number tipped to show a reasonable uptick. Ultimately however its international trade that’s likely to garner the most credence for now, so any further details of the narrative between Washington and Beijing will be closely followed.
Ahead of the open we’re calling the Dow down 92 at 26000 and the S&P 500 down 8 at 2788.