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wall Street Banks point to profits ahead of Monday’s open, overcoming concerns about lending and trade war China,
S&P 500 futures rose 0.4% before the opening bell, while Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq futures were up 0.3%.
Broader markets remained largely unaffected Amazon Web services stopped. On DownDetector, a website that tracks online outages, users reported problems with Snapchat, Roblox, Fortnite online broker Robinhood, the McDonald’s app, and many other services.
Amazon Web Services The site providing the update said services in its eastern US region have been disrupted and engineers are working to understand what is causing the problem.
Shares of parent company Amazon were essentially unchanged in premarket trading on the tech-focused NASDAQ exchange.
Some nervousness over US-China trade tensions eased on Friday after President donald trump He said the steep tariffs he has threatened to impose on Chinese imports are not sustainable.
Trump also told Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures” that he would meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping at an upcoming summit in South Korea. This is in contrast to his earlier angry post on social media, where he had said there seemed “no reason” for such a meeting.
Meanwhile, bank stocks remained flat after companies including Truist Financial, Fifth Third Bancorp and Huntington Bancshares reported stronger-than-expected profits in the latest quarter.
The quality of loans it makes is under scrutiny from banks and other lenders following aftermarket auto parts supplier First Brands Group’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection filing last month.
The question is whether the lenders’ problems are just a one-time recovery or a sign of some bigger threat to the industry. Uncertainty is high after a long period where many borrowers were able to remain in business despite the burden of higher interest rates. And with prices reaching record levels for all types of investments, risk appetite may have been very high.
In Europe, Germany’s DAX was up 1.3% at midday, while Britain’s FTSE rose 0.3%. In Paris, the CAC 40 was unchanged.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped 2.9% to 48,970.40, setting a new record, after its ruling Liberal Democrats got a new coalition partner, backing their leader Sanae Takachi to become the country’s first female prime minister.
Takachi is expected to emphasize pro-market policies such as low interest rates and higher government spending.
China reported that its economy grew at an annual pace of 4.8% last quarter, supported by relatively strong exports as companies increased shipments to markets other than the US.
Still, it was the slowest pace in a year. The world’s second-largest economy is still struggling to emerge from a long-running slump in its property market and encourage consumers and businesses to spend more.
The leadership of China’s ruling Communist Party convened a meeting in Beijing on Monday that is also expected to set policy goals for the coming five years and deal with personnel changes.
The outcome of the closed-door meeting this week is expected to emerge gradually and be formally endorsed at the annual session of the national legislature in early March.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 2.5% to 25,884.81, while the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.7% to 3,866.77.
In South Korea, the Kospi rose 1.3% to 3,796.64, setting another record on hopes of a trade deal with Washington and strong demand for semiconductors. SK Hynix gained 3.3%, while automakers Kia Corp rose 2.7% and Hyundai Motor Co added 2.5%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.2% to 9,009.10.