Gains in Jobs-Focused Week Continue in US Stock Futures – Europe Market Wrap

US stock futures rose further as investors awaited more data on the labour market, which has fared better than expected despite the Trump administration’s trade battle.

S&P 500 futures increased 0.2% after the US benchmark notched consecutive gains for the first time since mid-May. MSCI’s global equities index reached an all-time high following increases in European and Asian markets. The Dollar and US Treasuries were largely unchanged.

While some analysts predict a significant decline in US employment in the coming months as a result of tariffs, the data has yet to reflect this. The limited impact has boosted optimism and served to mitigate fears about Trump’s trade policy, which experts say could lead to an economic slowdown.

While global stock markets have recovered from their April lows, variations in the rate of recovery are appearing, with Europe and Asia outperforming the US. The Stoxx 600 index climbed 0.5% on Wednesday, putting it on course for its largest gain in more than a week.

Trump stated in a late-night social media post that Chinese President Xi was difficult to deal with, casting doubt on the viability of the world’s two largest economies’ fragile economic truce.