Weekly News For January 4-10, 2019

Friday, Jan 4: Hopes for US-China Trade Talk Send Shares Up

Global stock markets edged higher on Friday after China’s commerce industry announced that Beijing and Washington would hold a vice ministerial level trade talks on January 7 and January 8.

In Asia, the Shanghai Composite closed with a 2% gain. The Dow climbed 1.27%, while S&P 500 added 1.35% and the Nasdaq 100 futures rose 1.74%. European equities also advanced on the news.

Monday, Jan 7: Oil Prices Up 3% on Demand Hopes, Supply Cuts

Oil prices were up 3% on Monday, driven by expectations that abating trade tensions between the US and China would support the demand outlook, while output cuts by major producers also propped up the crude.

Brent crude futures rose 3% from their last close to $58.75 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures gained 2.96% to $49.37 per barrel.

Tuesday, Jan 8: Samsung Electronics Reports 29% Profit Fall in Q4

Samsung Electronics spooked investors further on Tuesday after posting an estimated 29% slump in fourth-quarter profit, citing lackluster demand in the memory chip business.

During the October-December period, Samsung’s estimated operating profit stood at 10.8 trillion won, ending below analysts’ forecast of 13.2 trillion won, while it also estimated an 11% drop in revenue at 59 trillion won.

Wednesday, Jan 9: Oil Prices Register 1% Drop on Demand Concerns

Asian shares hit a 3-1/2 week high on growing confidence that the US and China were close to reaching a trade deal that could help ease a major threat to the global economy.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan were up 1.5% after trade negotiations were extended for an unscheduled third day, while the Nikkei climbed 1.1%, the Shanghai Composite advanced 0.8%, and the CSI 300 gained 1.1%.

Thursday, Jan 10: Alibaba Acquires Data Artisans for €90 Million

Alibaba has sealed an acquisition deal with German data analysis firm Data Artisans, which serves clients including the Chinese e-commerce giant, Netflix, and Uber.

The arrangement, reportedly worth 90 million euros, marks the first full takeover by a Chinese company on Germany’s budding startup scene.