Trump just said China wants to restart trade talks — and relieved traders are pushing markets higher

AP Photo/Matt Rourke

Global stocks just reversed what looked to be another day of steep losses after Trump said China wants to resume trade talks.
The comments came too late to halt a rout in Asian markets.
US futures are set to rally, easing Friday’s rout sparked by trade war fears.
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Stocks are reversing earlier declines after US President Donald Trump offered traders hope in a resolution to the trade war that’s been rocking markets.

On the sidelines of the G7 summit in France, Trump on Monday said Chinese officials contacted US trade reps overnight to discuss restarting trade negotiations.

"Speaking on the sidelines of a summit of major industrialized nations, Trump hailed Chinese President Xi Jinping as a great leader and said he welcomed his desire for a deal and for calm," Reuters reported on Monday.

Citing a Caixin report, Bloomberg reported that China Vice Premier Liu He said "the country is willing to resolve the trade dispute with a calm attitude through dialogue."

Here’s the round up as of 10:15 a.m. in London, 5:15 a.m. in New York:

US futures are rallying. Futures underlying the S&P 500, the Nasdaq and the Dow are each up at least 0.8%.
Europe also gained. Germany’s Dax Index was up 0.2%, while the benchmark Euro Stoxx 50 and France’s CAC added at least 0.4%.
Asia took a cue from a heavy day of US market losses on Friday, and markets closed before Trump’s G7 comments. The Shanghai Composite Index and the Hang Seng dropped more than 1%, while the Nikkei plunged 2.2%.

While investor concerns are calmed for now, "Trump’s rhetoric, however, must be treated with the utmost caution," said Han Tan, Market Analyst at FXTM, in an email to Business Insider.

"Investors are well aware that multiple rounds of trade talks have only led to the current dismal situation, whereby repeated tariff threats have become the norm. Until there are clear signs of progress in US-China trade negotiations, risk-aversion will continue to dominate market sentiment."

Trade war fears fueled a particularly brutal day in markets on Friday, which bled into Asian markets on Monday.

Read more about it here:

Asian markets take a beating as Trump signals further escalation in his trade war with China

Gold and Treasuries surge as the escalating trade war sends investors fleeing from the stock market

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