1. 100 days to talk: The Trump administration has agreed to hold high-level trade negotiations with Beijing over the next 100 days.
That’s the major takeaway from President Trump’s first meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, held late last week at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
Investors had been closely watching the meeting for signs of disagreements over trade. The talks, which were overshadowed by Trump’s launch of an strike against a Syrian government target, did not yield any concrete accomplishments beyond pledges of increased cooperation and new frameworks for dialogue.
2. Barclays probe: Barclays said Monday that CEO Jes Staley is under investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority after he tried to identify a whistleblower last year.
The bank said Staley will be formally reprimanded and have his pay cut.
Barclays shares opened 1% lower in London, but recovered some losses in morning trading.
3. Russia hurting: Russian markets tanked again Monday after U.S. military action in Syria late last week dashed hopes for a better relationship between Washington and Moscow.
Micex, the benchmark Moscow index, was down 1.8% Monday morning, while the ruble was down 0.2% against the dollar.
Russia has denounced the strike on a Syrian government target. It now looks unlikely that the U.S. would be willing to remove its sanctions on Russia any time soon.
4. Global market overview: U.S. stock futures edged higher Monday.
European markets opened lower, while Asian markets ended the session mostly down.
U.S. oil futures are up 0.5%.
Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen is expected to deliver a speech at 4:00 pm ET.
5. Stock market movers: Shares in BHP Billiton rallied nearly 6% in London after activist investor Elliott Management urged the mining firm to spin off its U.S. petroleum business. Investors are hoping the hedge fund will force the company to make key reforms.
6. Coming this week:
Monday — Janet Yellen speaks in Michigan
Tuesday — Toshiba earnings
Wednesday — Delta Air Lines first quarter results, OPEC monthly oil report
Thursday — JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and Citigroup release first quarter earnings, China trade data
Friday — New York International Auto Show kicks off
