Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Thursday, September 13:
1. China Welcomes U.S. Invitation for Trade Talks
China welcomed an invitation by the United States to hold a new round of trade talks, raising hopes for a deal easing the bitter tariff dispute between the world's two biggest economies.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said earlier that Beijing had received the invitation and welcomed it, adding that the two countries were in discussion about the details.
The Trump administration had invited Chinese officials to restart trade talks, the White House's top economic adviser said on Wednesday.
Larry Kudlow, who heads the White House Economic Council, told Fox Business Network that U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had sent an invitation to senior Chinese officials, but he declined to provide further details.
This comes after President Donald Trump warned last week that there could more trade tariffs against Beijing totaling $267 billion, on top the already $200 billion in tariffs previously announced.
2. U.S. Stocks Futures Point Higher
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a slightly higher open on Wall Street, as investors reacted to a small step forward in trade war negotiations between the U.S. and China.
At 5:15AM ET, the blue-chip Dow futures were up 30 points, or about 0.1%, the S&P 500 futures tacked on 3 points, or around 0.1%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a gain of 14 points, or roughly 0.2%.
The earnings calendar on Thursday will bring investors the only two S&P 500 members reporting results this week, with Kroger (NYSE:KR) and Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) releasing quarterly updates.
Elsewhere, in Europe, the region's major bourses were mostly higher, with most of the sectors in positive ground. The pan-regional STOXX 600 benchmark was up 0.2% in mid-morning trade.
Earlier, Asian markets ended higher, led by strong gains in China, Hong Kong and Japan.
3. U.S. Inflation Data
Investors will get key inflation data in the morning with the August report on consumer prices set for release at 8:30AM ET.
Consumer prices are expected to have risen 0.3% last month and 2.8% over the prior year, according to estimates.
Core inflation, which excludes the more volatile costs of food and gas, is projected to climb 2.4% on a year-over-year basis.
The CPI data comes after soft U.S. wholesale price data undermined the case for a faster pace of policy tightening by the Federal Reserve.
The U.S. central bank is widely expected to raise benchmark interest rates at its September meeting, but odds for another move in December have decreased in recent days.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, was a tad higher at 94.92.
In the bond market, U.S. Treasury prices ticked down, pushing yields higher across the curve, with the benchmark 10-year yield rising to 2.975%, while the Fed-sensitive 2-year note rose to 2.755%.
4. European Central Bank Policy Meeting
The European Central Bank is all but certain to keep interest rates at their current record low levels, making only nuanced changes to its guidance to stay on course to end bond purchases this year and raise interest rates next autumn.
The ECB will announce its policy decision at 1145GMT (7:45AM ET), followed by President Mario Draghi's news conference at 1230GMT (8:30AM ET), during which quarterly economic projections will also be unveiled.
With Thursday's decision, the ECB's deposit rate, currently its primary interest rate tool, will remain at -0.40% while the main refinancing rate, which determines the cost of credit in the economy, will remain at 0.0%.
The euro dipped 0.1% against the dollar to 1.1610, weighed by broader economic uncertainty linked to developments in Italy.
Perhaps attracting more attention is a policy meeting by the Turkish central bank, which is expected to raise interest rates to shore up its battered lira.
5. Bank of England Rate Announcement
The Bank of England is also expected to hold fire after raising interest rates last month. If all goes as scripted, the British central bank will keep rates at 0.75%.
A decision is due at 1100GMT (7:00AM ET).
Investors will look closely at the breakdown of votes on the nine-member Monetary Policy Committee for further indications on the timing of the next rate increase.
Comments regarding the ongoing Brexit negotiations will also be in focus.
Expectations of another BoE rate hike are only seen in the second half of next year, given Britain's plans to leave the European Union in March.
The pound was little changed ahead of the BoE's monetary policy decision, with GBP/USD at 1.3045.
Market players will also keep an eye on the U.K. government, with a cabinet meeting scheduled to take place today. Prime Minister Theresa May is set to discuss the issue of a no-deal with the European Union over Brexit.