US pre-open: Futures point to gains amid China-US trade optimism

US stocks looked set to open higher on Monday as market participants remained largely focused on the long-running trade dispute between Washington and Beijing.

As of 1220 GMT, Dow futures were ahead 0.24%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite futures were up 0.21% and 0.32%, respectively.

The Dow Jones closed 109.33 points higher on Friday as stocks snapped the three-day losing streak that halted their historic rally.

National security advisor Robert O'Brien said on Saturday that the 'phase one' trade deal between China and the US could happen before the year is over. However, he also warned that US President Donald Trump would not ignore ongoing protests in Hong Kong, where pro-democracy candidates registered a symbolic majority in district council elections over the weekend.

Still on the trade front, the Chinese government released a document on Sunday pushing for more protection of intellectual property rights, another issue at the centre of trade talks with the US.

"Strengthening IPR protection is the most important content of improving the IPR protection system and also the biggest incentive to boost China's economic competitiveness," said the General Offices of the Communist Party of China.

The note called for speeding up the introduction of a punitive compensation system for infringements of patents and copyrights, as well as strengthening the protection of trade secrets, confidential business information and source codes.

Oanda's Craig Elam said: "It seems there's now cause for optimism again after reports that China is open to tightening rules on intellectual property, with Chinese state media claiming a deal is now close. Unfortunately, we've been here so many times before I'm struggling to get particularly excited.

"Even if these reports turn out to be true, there will likely be a price for this concession in the form of tariff removals, something Trump has shown little appetite for so far."

On the data front, the Chicago Fed's national activity index for October will be published at 1330 GMT, while the Dallas Fed's manufacturing index for November will be released at 1530 GMT.

In corporate news, jeweller Tiffany & Co rallied in pre-market trade after agreeing to be bought by French luxury goods company LVMH for $16.7bn.

Stockbroker TD Ameritrade was also in the green as it agreed to be bought by Charles Schwab in an all-share deal valued at around $26bn.

Uber shares were down 4.8% in pre-market trade after it was stripped of its licence to operate in London.

Elsewhere, Agilent, Palo Alto Networks and Jacobs Engineering will all report their latest quarterly earnings on Monday.