Global stocks drift, dollar climbs as trade news awaited

Bloomberg

Global stocks drifted alongside US index futures on Tuesday, as investors searched for fresh direction after China lowered its growth forecasts and as speculation endured that a Sino-American trade deal is near. Treasuries fell while the dollar strengthened for a fifth day.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index reversed an earlier gain, with automakers and banking shares dragging the gauge lower, while futures on the S&P 500 and Dow indexes edged higher.
Equities declined earlier in Japan, Korea and Australia and posted modest gains in China even as Premier Li Keqiang’s annual work report to the National People’s Congress showed a lower target for GDP growth.
The pound hit a fresh session low on news that the UK was said not to be expecting a Brexit breakthrough at a meeting with the EU’s chief negotiator. Stronger-than-expected economic activity in the euro area helped the single currency pare a decline.
After stocks in Europe and Asia found support on Monday from news that the world’s two-largest economies were close to a trade deal, investors are now hungry for concrete details before they push a global equities rally further. Trade and slowing growth are on the agenda as China’s most powerful officials gather in Beijing, while investors will get the latest read on the US economy with the monthly jobs report.
Elsewhere, Indian stocks recouped early losses made after the USmoved to end key trade concessions for New Delhi.

India Sensex at Three-Week High
India stocks gained as investors looked beyond US President Donald Trump’s plans to end key trade benefits for the country and focused on the prospects of the current government in the national ballot in April-May.
The S&P BSE Sensex climbed 1.1 percent to 36,442.54, a level last seen on February 8, erasing a drop of as much as 0.4 percent earlier in the day. Trump notified Congress in letters of his “intent to terminate” the trade benefits, the US Trade Representative’s Office said in a statement. The step comes as tensions between India and Pakistan remain heightened after retaliatory border skirmishes last week. The NSE Nifty 50 Index also gained 1.1 percent.
The rally also showed up in the broader market with the index of mid-cap companies clocking its biggest gain since December 12. The S&P BSE Small-cap index gained 3.1 percent, the sharpest gain since October 10.
“A tough stance against a threat from Pakistan-based terrorists has won Prime Minister Narendra Modi praise from the Indian public, which could translate into electoral gains for him and his Bharatiya Janata Party in national elections in May,” according to Abhishek Gupta, an economist with Bloomberg Intelligence.
“As geopolitical tensions ease, every dip will be a buying opportunity for investors,” said Dharmesh Kant, head of research at Indianivesh Securities Ltd.
Seventeen of the 19 sector indexes compiled by BSE Ltd. gained led by a gauge of automobile companies; a measure of software exporters was the worst performer.
Tata Motors Ltd. was the best performer on benchmark gauge rising 7.6 percent Cochin Shipyard climbs 3.7 percent after JSW order win.