Investor sentiment got a boost on hopes that top-level U.S.-China trade talks would yield at least a partial deal, after President Donald Trump tweeted he would meet Chinese Vice Premier Liu He on Friday for further trade talks and Liu said Beijing was willing to reach an agreement with Washington to prevent any further escalation in the trade war.
Trade negotiations between the United States and China resumed Thursday for the first time since July 2019. Market participants remained focused on outcome of the trade talks in Washington D.C. between the U.S. and China with import tariffs set for $250 billion worth of Chinese goods at a rate of 30% from 25% on 15 October 2019. A 15% tariff on an additional $160 billion worth of Chinese imports is also expected to kick in on 15 December 2019. The world's two largest economies have imposed tariffs on billions of dollars' worth of one another's goods since the start of 2018, battering financial markets and souring business and consumer sentiment.
On the economic data front, U.S. consumer price inflation was little changed in September, giving the Federal Reserve room to cut interest rates in late October for the third time this year amid risks to the economy from trade tensions. The CPI edged up 0.1% in August. In the 12 months through September, the CPI increased 1.7% after advancing by the same margin in August.
A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed a modest decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended October 5th. The report said initial jobless claims dropped to 210,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week's revised level of 220,000.
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