Global stocks pushed higher as Trade War rumors go down

U.S. President Donald Trump faced increasing pressure from political and diplomatic allies to pull back from proposed steel and aluminium tariffs, helping soothe investor nerves about an imminent trade war. Mr Trump earlier alarmed his Nafta partners, who had been hoping for an exemption from the planned tariffs on steel and aluminium, by tying that explicitly to a deal. “We have large trade deficits with Mexico and Canada. NAFTA, which is under renegotiation right now, has been a bad deal for USA. Massive relocation of companies & jobs. Tariffs on Steel and Aluminium will only come off if new & fair NAFTA agreement is signed,” he tweeted on Monday.

But next day on Tuesday he has been forced to back off on the stance.

Facing growing pressure from political and diplomatic allies to pull back from proposed steel and aluminium tariffs, helping soothe investor nerves about an imminent trade war, Trump showed some willingness to be flexible on the issue.

Realising that the situation is far from being grave, worries have dissipated slightly and markets moved up on Tuesday.

Asian shares rallied, with gains in the region led by Japan’s benchmark Nikkei, which ended up 1.8%, after hitting its lowest closing level since October a day earlier.

In Europe, pan-European Stoxx 600 index, the region’s broadest measure of share prices, rising around 0.8%, with all sectors in the green.

On Wall Street, U.S. stock futures inched higher – Dow futures were up 70 points, or nearly 0.3%, from their Monday close, while S&P 500 futures tacked on 6 points, or about 0.2%, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 28 points, or roughly 0.4%.

Sources: 

https://www.investing.com/news/economy-news/top-5-things-to-know-in-the-market-on-tuesday-1326496

https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/paper-stocks-autos-drive-european-shares-higher-1326401

https://www.fxstreet.com/analysis/markets-sigh-relief-on-korea-trump-201803061419

https://www.ft.com/content/ff6123b2-2078-11e8-9efc-0cd3483b8b80

https://www.ft.com/content/496f1036-1e3f-11e8-aaca-4574d7dabfb6