Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Monday, September 24:
1. U.S. Tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese Goods Hits
The Sino-U.S. trade war will remain in focus on Monday, as U.S. duties on $200 billion of Chinese goods went into effect at 12:01 AM ET (4:01 GMT).
China cancelled mid-level trade talks with the U.S. as well as a proposed visit to Washington by Vice Premier Liu He which had been scheduled for this week, the Wall Street Journal reported.
“The door for trade talks is always open but negotiations must be held in an environment of mutual respect,” state-run Xinhua News Agency reported. Negotiations “cannot be carried out under the threat of tariffs.”
Meanwhile U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said Sunday the U.S. was not starting a trade war, but joining an ongoing one.
“The trade war by China against the United States has been going on for years,” Pompeo said on Fox News. “To the extent one wants to call this a trade war, we are determined to win it.”
2. Trump Meets with South Korean President Moon Jae-in
U.S. President Donald Trump and South Korean leader Moon Jae-in will meet in New York on Monday to discuss how to move forward on a formal declaration of the end of the Korean War. Moon met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last week.
"Chairman Kim expressed his wish to finish complete denuclearization at an early date and focus on economic development," Moon said of his meeting with the North Korean leader in Pyongyang.
Kim and Trump met for the first-ever U.S.-North Korea summit on June 12, and since then denuclearization talks have stalled. Trump called off the secretary of state’s visit to Pyongyang in July, due to a lack of progress in denuclearization.
3. U.S. Futures Point to Lower Opening Bell
U.S. futures indexes pointed to a lower opening bell on Wall Street as investors kept an eye on U.S.-China trade developments.
The S&P 500 futures fell 0.20% while Dow futures lost 0.16% and tech heavy Nasdaq 100 futures decreased 0.40%.
Meanwhile trading in Europe was subdued, with Germany’s DAX, France’s CAC 40 and London’s FTSE 100 all in the red.
At the close in Shanghai, the Shanghai Composite gained 2.50%, while the SZSE Component index was flat. The China A50 Index of China’s biggest companies was up 3.70%, while in Japan, the TOPIX rose 0.92% and the Nikkei 225 inched up 0.86%.
4. Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Wins Bid for European Broadcaster Sky
Telecommunications giant Comcast outbid Twenty-First Century Fox Inc (NASDAQ:FOX) for SKY PLC (LON:SKYB) in an settlement auction on Saturday, ending a two-year-long battle for the European broadcaster.
Comcast submitted a £17.28 per share bid while Fox submitted a £15.67 per share bid. Comcast’s offer for majority stake in Sky puts that total value of the company at $40 billion.
Fox still owns a 39% stake in Sky, which it plans to sell to Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) on the completion of its merger.
5. OPEC Brushes Off Trump’s Call to Lower Prices; Oil Prices Surge
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia pushed back against a call last week by U.S. President Donald Trump to lower prices.
"I do not influence prices," Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih told reporters as OPEC and non-OPEC energy ministers gathered in Algiers. The group of oil producers is in discussion about rising output to counter falling Iranian supplies due to U.S. sanctions but made no formal recommendation for any additional supply boost at its Sunday meeting.
West Texas Crude oil futures for November surged over 2% to a two-month high of $72.20 a barrel, while Brent crude futures, the benchmark for oil prices outside the U.S., reached an almost four-year-high of over $80 a barrel.