Major stock indexes hit new records after the U.S. and China touted constructive trade talks ahead of a leaders’ summit later this week.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said there was a “very successful framework” for President Trump and Xi Jinping to discuss Thursday, while a senior Chinese official said the two sides had reached a preliminary consensus on key issues (more from Bessent here.)
The Dow industrials, S&P 500 and the Nasdaq composite hit new all-time highs, with big technology stocks leading gains. Benchmarks in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan also struck new records, while the Shanghai Composite Index closed at its highest in over 10 years. The Chinese yuan strengthened against the dollar.
It’s a big week for the stock market. More than one third of the companies in the S&P 500 are set to report quarterly earnings in the coming days, including big names like Apple, Meta and Alphabet. On Wednesday afternoon, the Federal Reserve will announce its latest move on interest rates. Investors are widely expecting another cut.
Soybean futures rallied. Trump has said he will press China to resume U.S. soybean purchases. Negotiations also cover rare-earth export controls, tariffs and fentanyl.
Prices for gold futures dropped, extending last week’s declines.
The Mexican peso gained against the U.S. dollar. Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, said she and President Trump agreed to extend a Nov. 1 trade deadline by a few weeks.
