As I stated on Saturday (and a zillion times previously), trade is THE global issue of the day — and is utterly huge in terms of the direction of the economy and the markets going forward.
Bloomberg Markets, per their morning commentary, is discovering what we’ve been preaching from the get-go; that the U.S/China trade conflict (not the Fed) is what’s been weighing on the global economy:
emphasis mine…
“Trade is now the biggest unknown for risk assets, with the world’s two largest economies locking horns. The decline in global PMI to the lowest level in more than two years is probably more about the outcome of trade uncertainty than the Fed’s policy tightening. The market seems able to navigate the Fed’s response or reactionary function to the economy, and the recent pause is giving it some breathing space. The trade conflict is something else as it’s much less predictable. The issue will keep the market on edge over the next two weeks.”
-Anchalee Worrachate