Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day

(Bloomberg) --

An epic intraday comeback for U.S. stocks falls short. Crude prices continue to crumble. And hopes for peace in the U.S.-Sino trade war fade, even with Presidents Trump and Xi set to meet. Here are some of the things people in markets are talking about.

Equity Rebound Falters Late

U.S. stocks  closed lower for a fifth day, as an afternoon rally from the lowest levels for the S&P 500 since May fell short of pushing benchmark indexes back into positive territory. The S&P 500 pared to 0.6 percent a loss that took it below 2,700 for the first time since July, while the Nasdaq Composite Index flirted with a correction before paring declines. Oil fell to the lowest level since August after Saudi Arabia pledged to meet any supply shortfall that materializes from Iranian sanctions. Ongoing concern over Italy’s fiscal situation helped drive 10-year Treasury yields as low as 3.11 percent amid heavy futures volume.

Trump-Xi Deal Prospects Fade

Expectations for a one-on-one meeting between Trump and Xi are already being lowered with officials from both sides increasingly pessimistic about prospects for a resolution to their deepening trade war. Larry Kudlow, the head of Trump’s National Economic Council, on Tuesday confirmed that the two presidents would meet “for a bit” on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Buenos Aires on Nov. 30-Dec. 1. On a related note, earnings season in the U.S. is underway, and analysts are eager to hear from executives about how an escalating trade war between Washington and Beijing  is impacting their businesses. A common theme is that they are ready to relocate supply chains if the cost of importing Chinese goods becomes prohibitive.

Big China Fund Ready to Sell

China Everbright Ltd., the state-backed manager of about HK$139 billion ($18 billion) in assets, said the company is preparing to sell shares on concern that valuations worldwide have peaked. There are 20 to 30 companies in China Everbright’s global portfolio that are ripe for exit after they went through initial public offerings, Chief Executive Officer Chen Shuang said in an interview in Hangzhou on Tuesday. Though he didn’t specify which stocks Everbright would sell out of, the company is planning to make its exits "as soon as possible," Chen said. "Global markets including the U.S. have peaked. We should be prepared for the next round of financial crises and turmoils."

Khashoggi Crisis Overshadows Saudi Summit

A smiling Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman showed up at a global investment summit in Riyadh on Tuesday, drawing applause and posing for photographs, as the kingdom sought to restrict the damage from the murder of a leading Saudi critic. Outrage over the fate of Jamal Khashoggi has overshadowed the conference, with dozens of bankers, executives and foreign dignitaries dropping out as it emerged the Washington Post columnist was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. In a lengthy televised address timed to coincide with the event’s opening day, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan  rejected Saudi Arabia’s shifting narratives, saying the killing was premeditated and that those responsible must be punished, even if “at the very top.”

Coming Up…

Asia traders hoping for some positive leads out of the U.S. overnight might be disappointed, though at least stocks ended well off session lows. Wednesday brings a relatively light data docket for Asia -- Japan's flash manufacturing PMI and Malaysian CPI are the highlights. There's also the start of Japan's Diet session. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans to submit bills to admit more foreign workers amid a labor shortage, and amend the pacifist constitution.

What we’ve been reading

This is what caught our eye over the last 24 hours.

• Dyson picks Singapore to build electric cars rivaling Tesla.
• India has already hit a record number of $1 billion startups this year.
• Softbank’s CEO went to Riyadh but skipped the conference.
• How China can boost the economy without toppling it.
• A chair for all those Frank Lloyd Wright fans.
• Bangkok is becoming a giant art gallery.

--With assistance from Garfield Reynolds.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Boris Korby at bkorby1@bloomberg.net

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