Global stocks traded firmer Tuesday, with markets supported by reports of a progress in U.S-China trade talks, as investors attempt to regroup from last night's tech-led selloff on Wall Street and the longest losing streak for world oil prices on record.
Another notable slide in global oil prices, triggered by renewed criticism for both Saudi Arabia and OPEC from President Donald Trump late Monday, kept investors on edge and added yet another dimension of volatility to a market already shaken by the prospect of slowing global growth, rising U.S. interest rates and an unpredictable geopolitical backdrop that has affected trade negotiations, Britain's impending exit from the European Union and Italy's ongoing budget crisis.
Apple Inc.s (AAPL) 5% slide on Wall Street yesterday, sparked by a profit warning from a key supplier but more broadly linked to concerns of iPhone demand, unsettled the tech sector in Asia overnight as big-name stocks such as Japan Display (JPDYY) , Samsung Electronics (SSNLF) and Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) slumped hard in the wake of U.S. declines.
Japan's Nikkei 225 fell more than 2% into the red by the close of trading in Tokyo while broader Asia stocks were marked 0.5% to the downside, supported by a report in the South China Morning Post that suggested Beijing's chief trade negotiator, Liu He, will travel to Washington as part of a mission to set up talks between Trump and Xi Jinping later this month at the G-20 Summit in Argentina.
U.S. equity futures indicated a firmer open for Wall Street, with contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average suggest a 120-point rebound from last night's 500-point pounding, led to the downside by big declines for Apple and Goldman Sachs, while those linked to the S&P 500 indicating a 16 point gain for the broader benchmark.
Home Depot (HD) posted stronger-than-expected third quarter earnings and boosted its full=year profit guidance as the world's largest home improvement retailer saw solid same-store sales growth in the United States despite a slowing housing market.
Home Depot shares were marked 2.3% higher in pre-market trading in New York, indicating an opening bell price of $183.50 each, a move that would trim its year-to-date decline to around 2.5% and value the Atlanta, Ga.-based group at just over $210 billion.
European stocks got off to a solid start, as well, despite reports that the Trump administration is considering slapping fresh tariffs on European-made automobiles that are imported into the United States as trade talks between the two blocs, which kicked-off this summer in Washington, appear to have made little progress since then.
The Stoxx 600 benchmark gained 0.33% by mid-day in Frankfurt, boosted in party by a weaker euro, which held at a near 16-month low against the U.S. dollar of 1.1230 as investors maintained a cautious stance ahead of today's deadline for Italy to file its revised budget proposals to the European Commission.
Britain's FTSE 100 was marked 0.11% to the upside in the opening minutes of trading in London, with the boost from a weaker pound, which drifted to 1.2882 following a speech from Prime Minister Theresa May that indicated no breakthrough in Brexit talks was imminent, offset by notable slumps for oil majors such as BP plc (BP) and Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDS.A) amid the ongoing bear market in global crude.
Oil, in fact, is in the middle of its longest losing streak on record, with prices falling for a 12th consecutive session, taking global crude to the lowest level in seven months following renewed criticism for OPEC's production cut strategy from President Trump, who Tweeted last night that oil "should be much lower based on supply" just hours after Saudi Arabia said it would reduce its December export pace by 500,000 barrels a day in order to address a global supply glut.
Brent crude contracts for January delivery, the global benchmark, were seen as much as $1.63 lower from their Monday close in New York to change hands at $68.49 per barrel, the lowest since April 6 and a move that takes the decline since the October 4 peak to around 20.5%.
WTI contracts for December, which are more tightly liked to U.S gas prices, were marked $1.46 cents lower at $58.47 per barrel, a 2018 low and some 23.4% from the October 4 peak of $76.41.