WASHINGTON — The United States has reached a deal in principle with China on trade, Bloomberg and Reuters reported on Thursday, saying the so-called “phase-one” agreement was awaiting a signoff from U.S. President Donald Trump.The S&P 500 pushed higher as Trump met with trade advisers on a deal that could be announced as soon as today, according to people briefed on the plans.
The trade tweets are the latest in what have been months of public proclamations by Trump’s administration that a deal with China is within striking distance even as the president has threatened to walk away from any pact. The negotiations via tweet come three days before his plan to escalate the trade war unless at least a partial deal is reached.
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve held rates steady and signaled hikes remain unlikely, fueling bets that the economy will be strong enough to continue its solid expansion. Thursday’s gain in American stocks pushed the MSCI All-Country index to its first record since January 2018.In Europe, the central bank said it would maintain bond buying and keep rates low until it gets near its inflation goal. The euro rose and bonds in the region slipped.
Earlier in the day, equities in Hong Kong and Seoul outperformed, while they slipped in Tokyo, Shanghai and Sydney. The Hong Kong dollar climbed into the stronger half of its trading band against the greenback for the first time since July. In the Middle East, Saudi Aramco shares jumped for a second day, pushing the oil giant’s value beyond the $2 trillion mark.
Elsewhere, oil futures rose. The lira gained as the Turkish central bank delivered another interest-rate cut that exceeded forecasts.