US pre-open: Stocks seen up amid Sino-US trade progress
US stock futures pointed to firmer open on Wall Street on Monday amid progress in Sino-US trade relations.
At 1220 GMT, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq futures were up 0.6%, while S&P 500 futures were 0.4% higher.
Investors will be breathing a sigh of relief after US President Trump said overnight that the 1 March deadline for the implementation of higher tariffs on Chinese imports will be delayed.
Trump tweeted: "I am pleased to report that the U.S. has made substantial progress in our trade talks with China on important structural issues including intellectual property protection, technology transfer, agriculture, services, currency, and many other issues.
"As a result of these very productive talks, I will be delaying the US increase in tariffs now scheduled for March 1. Assuming both sides make additional progress, we will be planning a summit for President Xi and myself, at Mar-a-Lago, to conclude an agreement."
However, market participants will also be mulling an article from China’s state news agency, Xinhua, which stressed that the talks would prove more challenging in the final stages and were subject to unspecified "new uncertainties". It went on to say that the trade conflict between the two nations will be "long term, complex and difficult".
London Capital Group analyst Jasper Lawler said the trade extension has not come as a complete surprise to traders.
"Last week, Trump was dropping hints that the March 1st trade truce deadline was a fluid date; not one set in stone. So whilst China, which has the most to gain from a deal is trading significantly higher on Monday, elsewhere we expect the market reaction to be limited.
"Let’s not forget that this is not a deal. Progress has been made but reports also suggest that there is still some ground to be covered before the summit between President Trump and China’s Xi Jinping. Traders are acutely aware that talks will be harder in this final sage."
In corporate news, Philadelphia-based pharmaceutical company Spark Therapeutics was up a whopping 121% in pre-market trade after agreeing to be bought by Switzerland's Roche in a $4.3bn cash deal. The offer price of $114.50 per share represents a premium of around 122% to Spark's closing price on Friday.
Elsewhere, General Electric shares were up 8.2% in pre-market trade after the group agreed to sell its BioPharma business to Danaher for $21.4bn.
Newmont Mining Corp was in the green as Barrick Gold Corp said it had made an unsolicited bid to buy the rival gold miner in a deal that values it at nearly $18bn.
Kraft Heinz shares could also be active following reports the company is looking to sell its Maxwell House coffee division.
Still to come, Etsy and Shake Shack were due to report earnings after the close, while on the data front, the Chicago Fed national activity index is at 1330 GMT and wholesale inventories are at 1500 BST.