Weekly News Summary For May 10-16, 2019

Friday, May 10: Chinese, European Shares Rise; US Stocks Cautious

Investors in China appeared to have absorbed the US’ 25% tariff hike decision in advance on Friday, after the Shanghai Composite closed with a 3.1% gain, amid suspicions of interference from state-owned actors to prop up prices.

European stock markets also traded in the green territory, with the Euro Stoxx 50 adding 0.8%, although the region’s shares are still expected to experience its worst week since the beginning of the year, while US futures including the Dow and S&P500 both dropped 0.1%, whereas the Nasdaq 100 was unchanged.

Monday, May 13: EM Currencies Slip as Trade Conflict Intensifies

Intensification of the US-China trade dispute sends currency markets down on Monday, with the Chinese yuan registering a four-month low against the dollar and India’s rupee falling to a two-month low overnight, while the Aussie dollar rebounded from the 10-year low booked earlier this month.

Following  Friday’s implementation of tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports, US President Donald Trump ordered Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizer, to ready 25% tariff on all US imports from China not yet included by existing measures.

Tuesday, May 14: Uber CEO Expects Pressure on Stock to Continue

Uber Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi cautioned that the ride-hailing firm’s newly-listed stock might continue to struggle in the following months.

After experiencing another loss of 10.8% in the previous day, Khosrowshahi said sentiment does not change overnight, and he expects some tough public market times over the coming months, but added that they have all the capital they need to demonstrate a path to improved margins and profits.

Wednesday, May 15: Germany’s Economy Recovers in the First Quarter

Germany’s economy recovered in the first quarter of 2019, ending six months of inactivity after household spending and construction activity showed improvement.

The Federal Statistics Office reported on Wednesday that the country’s GDP grew 0.4% quarter-on-quarter, while it was up 0.7% on a yearly basis, with both preliminary figures meeting analysts’ estimates.

Thursday, May 16: US Blacklists Huawei, Faces Tough Sanctions

Adding more fuel to the already heated US-China trade conflict, Huawei Technologies has been struck with tough sanctions from the Trump administration.

The Commerce Department announced that it intends to include Huawei and 70 affiliates to its so-called Entity List – a measure that would prevent the telecom giant from acquiring parts and components from US companies without  Washington’s approval.