Trump/XI Meeting Day (Finally)
What’s in Today’s Report:
- What’s Caused The Late Week Rally (Don’t Forget It’s Quarter End Too)
- A Positive Sign in Housing
- Trump and Xi meet at 10:30 p.m. ET tonight so look for I’ll be looking for headlines starting around 11:30 p.m.
Futures are modestly positive again this morning on more U.S.—China trade optimism.
President Trump said he thought talks with President Xi would be “productive” and that’s boosting futures.
Economic data largely met expectation although Japanese IP (2.3% vs. (E) 0.3%) and EU HICP (their CPI) slightly beat estimates (1.1% vs. 1.0% yoy).
Focus will clearly be on the looming Trump/Xi meeting but there’s an important economic data point to watch today: Core PCE Price Index (E: 0.1% m/m, 1.5% y/y). If that shows inflation that’s stronger than estimates, it’ll reduce the chances of a rate cut (bad for stocks), while a soft number will result in a “bad is good” reaction in markets.
