Dow Jones Industrial Average futures zipped higher on Sunday evening after a Treasury official refuted a report that the Trump administration was mulling a new policy that would block Chinese companies from trading on US stock exchanges.
Dow Futures Point to Bullish End to September
Roughly 35 minutes after the futures markets had opened on Sunday, Dow futures had climbed 81 points or 0.3% to 26,877, implying a gain of 82.75 points at Monday’s opening bell.
If those gains hold, the Dow should close the month in positive territory, bucking a century-long trend.
S&P 500 futures climbed 0.29%, and Nasdaq futures rose 0.38% as US stocks prepared to close a volatile September on a high note.
Treasury Official Denies Key Point in Market-Crippling Report
Stock futures pointed to a Monday morning recovery after a US Treasury official denied that the White House was discussing a proposal to bar Chinese companies from US stock exchanges as part of a strategy to further pinch China’s economy.
“The administration is not contemplating blocking Chinese companies from listing shares on US stock exchanges at this time,” Treasury spokeswoman Monica Crowley told Bloomberg.
On Friday, Bloomberg had published a report citing anonymous Trump administration officials who suggested that the White House – with President Donald Trump’s permission – was discussing the controversial policy, which Stephen Roach, an economist and senior fellow at Yale University said would be an “unmitigated disaster.”
Investors appeared to have a similar reaction, as the Dow plummeted in the immediate wake of the initial report, reversing triple-digit gains to close the day in the red.
In addition to adding further pressure to US-China trade tensions, critics noted that restricting investor access to these stocks would throw major stock indices into disarray, especially international equity funds with high exposure to the Chinese market.
However, while Crowley directly denied the most controversial aspect of the report, she did not address whether the administration was considering other measures designed to reduce capital inflows to China, such as limiting how much exposure federal pension funds could have to Chinese equities.
Moreover, her statement indicated that the administration was not currently discussing a ban on Chinese companies listing on US stock exchanges, not that the White House had never considered it.
