Clearing the Trade War Fog

What’s in Today’s Report:

• Clearing the Fog: Where Are We on U.S.-China Trade?

U.S stock futures are trading lower and international markets saw broad declines overnight thanks to escalating trade tensions between the U.S. and China.

The Senate passed a bill late Tuesday in support of the Hong Kong protests to which the Chinese Foreign Ministry has issued a strong statement of disapproval for.

Additionally, Trump threatened higher tariffs at a cabinet meeting yesterday and the combination is weighing on sentiment.

There are no economic reports today and no Fed officials scheduled to speak but the minutes from the October FOMC Meeting are due out at 2:00 p.m. ET which will be closely watched for further clues on the Fed’s future policy plans.

The trade war is still dominating markets right now so investors will be watching for any rebuttals from the U.S. regarding China’s negative response to the “Hong Kong bill” or any additional talk of future tariff policy from either the U.S. or China.