Morning Wrap: Markets freeze as USA-China summit begins (14.05.2026)

Wall Street's main index futures are holding their breath as the Trump-Xi summit begins in China. US30 and US500 are trading flat, the US2000 is down approximately 0.2%, while the tech-heavy US100 is gaining 0.1%. The EU50 is trading unchanged. President Donald Trump has arrived in Beijing for a summit with Xi Jinping. Key discussion topics include trade, the removal of mutual tariffs, and China's role in the Middle East conflict. Trump is accompanied by a business delegation, including the CEOs of Tesla and Nvidia. The agenda also covers Taiwan and artificial intelligence. Trump has already stated that US-China relations will be "better than ever." Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari noted that the labor market is improving, while the war in Iran is fueling high inflation. He advocates for keeping the door open for rate hikes, which contrasts with Donald Trump's expectations for Kevin Warsh. Kashkari emphasized that the Fed Chair is only one of twelve voters and must persuade his colleagues to support his policy. Asian stock markets recorded moderate gains, supported by the tech sector following records on Wall Street. However, Chinese shares are falling from multi-year peaks due to profit-taking on the day the key Trump-Xi summit begins (CHN.cash: -1.8%, HK.cash: -1.4%). The Hang Seng is being supported by Alibaba shares. Markets in Australia, Japan (JP225: -0.8%), and Singapore (SG20.cash: -0.7%) remain in the red. Investors continue to fear the impact of the Iran war on oil prices and global inflation. Kazuyuki Masu, a board member of the Bank of Japan, called for interest rate hikes as soon as possible, provided there is no significant economic slowdown. Although he previously supported rate stabilization, he now warns of persistent inflationary pressure stemming from energy shocks. Masu believes Japan has entered a phase of rising prices, requiring decisive action to maintain inflation at the 2% target. The dollar is trading unchanged, with minimal movements in G10 currency pairs following a recent bout of volatility triggered by macro data (US inflation) and in anticipation of the China summit outcome. USDJPY is gaining 0.1% despite hawkish comments from the BoJ. EURUSD is flat at 1.171. Oil is rebounding by 0.7% (Brent/OIL to $106 per barrel; OIL.WTI to $101). NATGAS extends moderate gains by another 0.7%. Precious metals are following the moderate volatility seen in currencies and oil. GOLD is rebounding 0.25% to $4,700 per ounce, while SILVER is pulling back 0.25% to $87 per ounce. Sentiment in crypto remains mixed, with marginal gains on major tokens. Bitcoin adds 0.3% to $79,800, with Ethereum also up 0.3% to $2,265.