Wall Street drops as JPMorgan, Citi, Wells Fargo erase pre-market gains

Wall Street major indexes fell on Friday morning, erasing all their gains coming out of the opening bell as JPMorgan led a sharp reversal in financial stocks.

JPMorgan dropped 1.7 percent after its profit missed estimates as lower investment banking revenue offset gains from higher interest rates and a jump in trading revenue.

Shares of Wells Fargo also shed premarket gains to drop 2.9 percent after the bank said it may have to pay a penalty of $1 billion to resolve investigations.

Citigroup also reversed course to trade 1.8 percent lower after its results.

The S&P 500 banks index was down 1.98 percent.

"A lot of it (earnings expectations) has been baked in and that's is the real critical test for the markets," said Scott Brown, Chief Economist at Raymond James in St. Petersburg, Florida.

"This has not been the typical pre-earnings season where you're talking down expectations. There is some potential for disappointment at the same time there is also lot of hope that these numbers are going to meet expectations."

Trump takes a u-turn; hints at rejoining Trans Pacific Partnership

President Donald trump has asked his top economic advisors to study the possibility of rejoining the multi-nation Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), a trade pact he withdrew out the US days after assuming presidency.

"Last year, the President kept his promise to end the TPP deal negotiated by the Obama administration because it was unfair to American workers and farmers. The President has consistently said he would be open to a substantially better deal, including in his speech in Davos earlier this year," White House Deputy Press Secretary Lindsay Walters said.

"To that end, he has asked (US Trade Representative) Amb (Robert) Lighthizer and (White House Economic) Director (Lawrence) Kudlow to take another look at whether or not a better deal could be negotiated," she said.

Trump announced this during a meeting with lawmakers at the White House, Walters said.

In his remarks in Davos on January 26, Trump had said the US was prepared to negotiate mutually beneficial and bilateral trade agreements with all countries.

Wall Street down even as US steel stocks jump on tariff expectations

Wall Street's main indexes fell on Thursday as industrial stocks, including heavyweights Boeing and Caterpillar, took a beating on fears that potential tariffs on steel imports could hit profits.

US President Donald Trump tweeted on Thursday that the US steel and aluminum industries need "free, fair and smart trade". CNBC reported that Trump will make an announcement on tariffs at 11 a.m. ET (1600 GMT).

Trump has vowed to take steps to crack down on imports of steel and aluminum and has been considering imposing hefty tariffs or quotas on imports of the metals from China and other countries under a national security law.
"I think the industrials are down as they use a lot of steel, and the uncertainty of what the tariff announcement could mean for them," said Ryan Detrick, Senior Market Strategist for LPL Financial.

China warns Trump trade sanctions on imports threaten global economy

US trade sanctions will hit the world economy, Beijing warned today, after President Donald Trump threatened to impose fresh tariffs on imports from China.
Trump said he was "considering all options," including tariffs and quotas, after he accused China of decimating the American steel and aluminium industries.

Washington has already imposed a range of tariffs on Chinese-made goods, sparking fears of a tit-for-tat trade war between the world's top two economies as China also threatens to take action.
Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters that "any sign of unilateralism or protectionism will ... worsen global trade issues and will hurt the recovering momentum of the world economy".

He added that with the sheer volume of trade and integration between the US and Chinese economies, some friction was natural.

News digest: Exports rise 30%, Adani to build highways, and more

Exports jump 30%, trade deficit high at $13.8 bn

The GST Council's efforts to resolve exporters' woes on refunds seem to have started yielding results. Exports grew 30.55 per cent in November, a month after it contracted 1.1 per cent, also due to the low base effect and rising petroleum prices. In fact, petroleum products, along with engineering goods, gems and jewellery, and chemicals, drove nearly 80 per cent of the rise in merchandise exports. Read more


Govt okays sops for leather sector, waives fee for small digital payments

The Cabinet on Friday cleared a Rs 2,600-crore proposal to boost job creation in the leather industry, lowered the merchant discount rate (MDR) on transactions up to Rs 2,000 through debit cards, BHIM UPI or Aadhaar-enabled payment systems to promote digital transactions, and approved a series of Bills, including one amending the Specific Relief Act to smoothen enforcement of contracts. Read more

Growth slowdown bottoming out, says RBI governor

While expectations on price rise remain stable for the moment, “considerable caution and vigilance is warranted on the inflation front” but the slowing in growth could be over, said Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Urjit Patel. Read more

Adani group to foray into highway construction sector

The Adani group, which has a presence in the power, coal and maritime sectors, would soon foray into the highway construction sector. Read more
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The G20 summit shows a world divided in its attitudes toward globalisation

In particular, they are divided over their attitudes toward globalisation. It is globalisation that has significantly increased the degree of interconnection between the world’s economies. And it is this interconnection that drives the need for international discussion and cooperation – via events such as the G20.

But this last year has seen as a loud backlash against globalisation. There was the Brexit vote in the UK and the election of Donald Trump in the US on a protectionist ticket. This is ironic given that they are two of the world’s biggest economies (at least for the time being). Both have been major drivers of globalisation and have benefited enormously from it.

But now both countries are calling the future of globalisation into question. Two sides have emerged in the debate over whether or not globalisation is a good thing and whether or not nation states should be more protective and inward-looking.

On the one hand, some G20 countries emphasise the benefits of ongoing and increased levels of cooperation between countries and regional trading blocs. These countries, such as Germany and Canada, seek to tackle the issues caused by globalisation at the global scale. This is not a homogeneous group, but there is a broad consensus that the high degree of interconnection between the world’s economies is not easily unpicked, nor is it desirable to try to do so.
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