Beijin­g, Washin­gton will hold vice-minist­erial level talks early next weekLONDON: World stock markets rallied on Friday after Beijing announced a new round of trade talks with Washington, though recession fears still had markets betting the next move in US interest rates might be down. News that the United States and China would hold vice-ministerial level talks on Monday and Tuesday to resolve a trade dispute brought some respite to battered markets, with the MSCI’s world stock index up a third of a per cent and US stock futures around 1% firmer. The yen edged back from its recent surge on Friday on hopes US-China trade talks would make some progress, but the Japanese currency remains well bid by investors fretting about a global economic slowdown. The yen fell as much as 0.6% against the dollar to 108.31 before recovering some of those losses to trade at 107.94. But analysts are unconvinced that the trade talks and subsequent relief rally signal sustained improvements, particularly in a new era of tightening liquidity.

Source: The Express Tribune January 04, 2019 16:07 UTC