Investing.com - U.S. futures edged higher on Wednesday after Bloomberg reported that the U.S. and China are edging closer to a trade deal, citing unnamed sources.
Bloomberg's sources reported that U.S. officials still expect a phase one deal with China before the next scheduled U.S. tariff increase on Chinese imports on Dec. 15. China's Foreign Ministry, however, issued a statement again insisting upon "equality" in any phase-1 deal - the term Beijing has used as shorthand for wanting all U.S. tariffs revoked as part of the agreement. Trump said on Tuesday that the phase-1 deal cannot be "equal".
The news came just one day after President Donald Trump said that there was no deadline for a trade deal for China and that it may be after next year’s election.
Nasdaq 100 rose 52 points or 0.6% by 6:43 AM ET (11:43 GMT), while Dow futures jumped 143 points or 0.5% and S&P 500 Futures gained 14 points or 0.5%.
Stocks sensitive to trade news were higher, with Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) up 0.7%, Micron (NASDAQ:MU) jumping 1.5% and Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) inching up 0.1%.
Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) was up 0.3%, but was held back slightly after the Seoul High Court upheld a $873 million fine from South Korea’s antitrust regulator for abuse of its dominant position in the mobile phone market.
Peloton Interactive(NASDAQ:PTON) was on watch after it fell 10% on Tuesday over a holiday ad that some viewers claim is sexist. Critics have asked that the ad, which depicts a woman recording a video diary of an exercise bike her partner gave her, be taken down.
In commodities, gold futures fell 0.1% to $1,482.35 a troy ounce, while the U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was flat at 97.700. Crude oil futures jumped 1.6% to $57.02 a barrel.