Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Tuesday, May 22:
1. China To Cut Tariffs On Cars, Auto Parts
In another promising sign of warming trade relations between the world's two largest economies, China said it will cut import tariffs for automobiles and some car parts, effective July 1.
Tariffs for qualifying vehicles would be lowered to 15% from either 20% or 25% currently, the finance ministry said Tuesday, while import tariffs for auto parts would be cut to 6%.
Meanwhile, the U.S. and China have agreed on the broad outline of a deal to settle the controversy over Chinese telecom giant ZTE (HK:0763), according to people with knowledge of the matter in both countries, as the two sides work toward an agreement to ease trade tensions.
The news comes after Washington and Beijing stepped back from the brink of a global trade war and agreed to hold further negotiations to boost U.S. exports to China.
2. Dow Futures Point To More Gains After Monday's Rally
U.S. stock futures pointed higher, indicating the Dow could build on the previous session's strong gains, as trade tensions between the U.S. and China dissipated for the moment.
At 5:50AM ET, the blue-chip Dow futures rose around 50 points, or about 0.2%, the S&P 500 futures tacked on 5 points, or nearly 0.2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a gain of 24 points, or roughly 0.3%.
U.S. stocks rose sharply on Monday, as gains in industrials helped propel the Dow above the 25,000 threshold Monday for the first time since March.
Elsewhere, in Europe, the continent's major bourses moved cautiously higher in mid-morning trade, with Italy leading the advancers as political tension there eased for now.
Earlier, in Asia, markets in the region stumbled as a strong dollar appeared to sap demand from emerging market assets.
3. More Retailers Set To Report Earnings
Reports from Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS) and TJ Maxx parent company TJX (NYSE:TJX) due ahead of Tuesday's opening bell will be closely tracked by investors as the earnings season continues to wind down.
Besides the two retailers, investors will have a fairly busy earnings schedule with AutoZone (NYSE:AZO), Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL), Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU), and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) all set to report results.
4. Dollar Slips From 5-Month Highs
The dollar traded below a five-month high against a basket of currencies, catching its breath after a broad rally inspired by rising U.S. bond yields.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, was down 0.2% at 93.28, down from a five-month high of 93.97 set on Monday.
Meanwhile, the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield stood at around 3.07% in early action, after scaling a seven-year peak of 3.128% last week.
The economic calendar will be nearly empty Tuesday, with only the Richmond Fed’s regional manufacturing survey set for release.
5. Oil Rises Back Towards $80
Oil prices rose back towards $80 a barrel, supported by concern that falling Venezuelan crude output and a potential drop in Iranian exports could further tighten global supply.
Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose 30 cents to $79.52 a barrel. Last week, it topped $80 for the first time since November 2014.
U.S. crude was up 21 cents at $72.56, having earlier traded at $72.72, its highest since November 2014.
The American Petroleum Institute is due to release its weekly inventory report at 4:30PM ET and it is expected to show an oil-stock decline of 2.8 million barrels, which would be a third straight weekly fall.