U.S. markets had a strong open Monday morning on President Trump's announcement that U.S. and Chinese officials are willing to continue talks in an effort to de-escalate mounting trade tensions.
Speaking from the G7 summit in Biarritz, France, Trump said that Chinese negotiators had called U.S. officials and requested a new round of talks. "We'll be getting back to the table. And I think they want to do something," he said. "This is a very positive development for the world."
China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang, however, said at a press conference Monday that he was not aware of any calls, but that the trade feud should be solved "through dialogue and consultation."
Meanwhile, Chinese Vice Premier Liu He said at an economics conference in Chongqing that China favored "calm negotiations" to resolve trade tension. "We resolutely oppose the escalation of the trade war, which is not beneficial for the U.S. or China. It is also not beneficial to the world," Liu said, according to multiple reports citing government transcripts.
By midday, the Dow was up more than 250 points, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were up more than one percent. Yet the news came too late for Asian markets, which had plummeted by close Monday local time.
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong and the Shanghai Composite Index ended the day down 1.91 percent and 1.17 percent respectively. The Nikkei in Tokyo closed down 2.17 percent and South Korea's Kospi Index fell 1.6 percent.
On Monday, Trump also repeatedly lauded Chinese President Xi Jinping as a "great leader" and a "brilliant man" — a far cry from the "enemy" characterization that Trump gave Xi last week.
The enduring trade dispute between the U.S. and China, which has both ebbed and surged in recent months, significantly escalated last week. China announced on Friday that it would hit $75 billion worth of U.S. goods with new retaliatory tariffs and proceed with a steep tariff levied on U.S. vehicles and car parts.
In response, Trump announced that the U.S. would hike its 25 percent tariff on $250 billion worth of Chinese imports to 30 percent, and increase the forthcoming 10 percent tariff on $300 billion worth of goods to 15 percent. Friday's culmination sent U.S. stocks into a nosedive and led to an outcry from industry against the escalation.
Trump added he was confident that Liu's remarks on calm negotiations were sincere and were not a bid to quell market woes. "I think they want to make a deal. I think they should make a deal, and I think if they don't make a deal it will be very bad for China," he said during a press conference with President Emmanuel Macron of France.
At a separate event, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Liu's remarks were "very significant statements" and that the U.S. was communicating with the vice premier, who is China's chief negotiator, through intermediaries.
China, nonetheless, urged the U.S. on Monday not to "miscalculate the situation" and to cease its "erroneous ways."
"China firmly opposes and rejects such stark trade bullying and maximum pressuring tactics," Shuang said. "I would like to remind the U.S. once again that threats and intimidation will never work on China."
In response to a question on the trade uncertainty fueling market volatility, Trump said "Sorry, it's the way I negotiate ... and it has done very well for me over the years."
Michele Schneider, Partner and Director of Trading Research & Education for MarketGauge.com, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where she says the spread of the Omicron variant and Jerome Powell's comments following the latest Fed decision are spooking investors heading into the weekend.
Andrew Hawkins, transportation editor at The Verge, joins Cheddar News' closing Bell, where he breaks down FedEx's EV truck delivery from GM's BrightDrop Company while also discussing the shipping giant's strategy following its latest earnings report.
Alinda Mashiku, Conjunction Analysis and Risk Assessment Deputy Manager at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, joins Future of Space: Humankind's Leap Forward to explain how space debris is threatening operations in space at a time when more satellites are being deployed.
Marshall Smith, Senior Vice President of Space Systems at Nanoracks and Kirk Shireman, Vice President of the Lunar Exploration Campaign at Lockheed Martin join Future of Space: Humankind's Leap Forward to discuss upcoming plans for developing their Starlab commercial space station after being awarded a $160 million contract by NASA.
Both AMC and Cinemark shares rose Friday after a pandemic-era record number of moviegoers attended the 'Spider-Man: No Way Home' opening night. The movie is expected to pull at least $150 million in box office sales opening weekend. But is this momentum enough for theater chains as the COVID-19 omicron variant poses new threats? Daniel Loria, Editorial Director at Boxoffice PRO, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
The billionaire space race took off in 2021, making major strides in space tourism. That growth is only expected to skyrocket in the next year, as the government and private institutions and companies look to shape the final frontier's exploration. Cheddar News dives into the biggest moments of the year in space, and what comes next for space travel and tourism.
While other CEOs of Southwest and American Airlines questioned current mask mandates in front of Congress, Delta CFO Dan Janki in his exclusive interview with Cheddar, was more cautious about doing away with the safety measure. "We're right now at the beginning of another wave," he said. "This is probably not the time to change mask policy." Janki also discussed his airline's future in loyalty program pricing, international travel, meal services, and stock pricing.
E-commerce data platform Rokt is prepping for an IPO as it comes off of a $325 million Series E fundraise, and CEO Bruce Buchanan joined Cheddar to discuss the future of his company. He explained how Rokt uses data science to optimize the consumer experience with their clients and discussed the goal to go public in 2023. "We're at a size and scale now where it's important we can give liquidity to investors, we can use the public markets to attract more talent, and we can use the public markets also to go on and acquire more businesses," he said. "We think it's about time that we do list."
Rideshare company Lyft is following its competitor Uber into the food delivery market by partnering with Olo, the on-demand commerce platform, and its dispatch network. Joining Cheddar to discuss the team-up, Olo founder and CEO Noah Glass. "Consumers will be able to place orders through the same apps and websites they go to … and see delivery as an option," he said. "And Lyft is now one of the providers who may be picking up the order on behalf of the consumer and taking it from the restaurant to the consumer." Glass also stated that Olo optimizes deliveries without adding the burden of additional fees on the restaurant side.
