Optimism about the outcome of trade talks between Washington and Beijing helped US stocks start the week on the front foot, with underlying support still coming from Friday’s soothing policy comments from Jay Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve.
Mr Powell’s remarks that the US central bank would be “patient” with regard to further interest rate rises helped calm worries about a possible Fed policy error, and helped put the dollar under pressure, even as Treasury yields moved higher.
“Now that Fed chair Powell has smoothed over the market’s worries regarding rate policy, the next important catalyst is US corporate earnings season, that kicks off next week,” said Nicholas Colas at DataTrek Research.