US-China ‘phase one’ deal, HSBC earnings and oil

HSBC is expected to report third-quarter earnings by 12:00 p.m., HK/SIN. Investors will be scrutinizing the results, looking for signs that the months of unrest in Hong Kong — which accounted for about half of HSBC’s first-half pre-tax profit this year — have taken their toll.

On the U.S.-China trade front, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said the countries have “made headway on specific issues and the two sides are close to finalizing some sections of the agreement.”

On Saturday, China’s Commerce Ministry said both sides have agreed to properly address core issues, according to a Reuters report. The ministry said in a statement both sides have confirmed that the U.S. will import cooked poultry from China, while Beijing will lift a ban on U.S. poultry.

Earlier this month, U.S. President Donald Trump had announced both sides have reached a “very substantial phase one deal,” in trying to push for an end to the dispute that have caused several rounds of tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of each other’s goods.

“What’s not yet clear yet is if both sides have agreed that even if the planned December 15th tariff increases won’t go ahead if Phase-One is agreed, whether there will be any wind back of the higher tariffs imposed on September 1st, something China was said to be demanding toward the end of last week but we doubt the US is ready to concede on,” wrote Ray Attrill, head of foreign exchange strategy at the National Australia Bank, in a note Monday.

Meanwhile, the trade war continued to take its toll on China, with profits at the country’s industrial sector falling 5.3% in September year-on-year, according to data from the the National Bureau of Statistics on Sunday.

Currencies and oil

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 97.826, sliding from an earlier high of 97.849.

The Japanese yen traded at 108.72, strengthening from 108.77 seen earlier. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6819, following a low of $0.6815 seen earlier.

Oil prices rose in the morning during Asia hours. Global benchmark Brent maintained its climb from the previous week, edging up 0.1% to $62.08 per barrel. U.S. crude was up 0.14% to $56.74.

What’s on tap:

Here’s the economic calendar for Monday (all times in HK/SIN):

12:00 p.m.: HSBC third-quarter earnings

Other earnings: Canon, Fanuc, Tokyo Electric

source https://cvrnewsdirect.com/us-china-phase-one-deal-hsbc-earnings-and-oil/