U.S. stock-index futures fell after Chinese officials told agriculture companies to pause imports of some American farm goods. European shares climbed with the euro. Contracts on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 gauges slid after Bloomberg reported that state-owned traders Cofco and Sinograin were ordered to suspend purchases. It’s the latest sign that the phase-one trade deal is in jeopardy amid a standoff between the two countries.
“There is no reason to expect these tensions to ease anytime soon,” Marc Ostwald, chief economist and global strategist at ADM Investor Services International in London, in comments to Bloomberg. “This will continue to provide a flow of headlines to trip up market optimism, and it suggests that volatility will remain very elevated.”
Markets seemed relatively unfazed by the violent protests over the weekend that spread from New York to Chicago. Travel companies and banks led gains in the Stoxx Europe 600 Index, and copper advanced in London trading. Germany and Switzerland were closed for a holiday.
A gauge of the dollar stayed near its weakest level since March. Asia’s session saw more risk-on sentiment. U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday stopped short of specifying tough sanctions over China’s new national security law for Hong Kong.