stock market indexes
Already at progressively higher all-time highs, U.S. stocks received an extra boost on Monday after a report surfaced that the U.S. will remove China from its list of currency manipulators. The label was unceremoniously placed on China by the U.S. Treasury Department last August amid escalating trade tensions between the two countries. Since then, tensions have eased dramatically, and negotiators from both countries are slated to sign a “phase one” trade deal later this week.
This bit of market-positive news on the U.S.-China trade front comes just as volatility stemming from political and military conflict between the U.S. and Iran within the past week has cooled. Although geopolitical and trade risks certainly remain, the significant easing of tensions for the time being has propelled substantial market moves. These include a continued surge in equities, a significant lull in market volatility and put-buying, and sharp pullbacks in both gold and crude oil, which had recently rallied due in part to the U.S.-Iran conflict.
