Donald Trump says Russia, China playing 'currency devaluation game'

US President Donald Trump accused Russia and China on Monday of devaluing their currencies while the United States raises interest rates, prompting China to accuse the United States of sending confusing messages.

"Russia and China are playing the Currency Devaluation game as the US keeps raising interest rates. Not acceptable!" Trump said in a Twitter post.

Speaking in Beijing on Tuesday, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying noted that what Trump said seemed to contradict the US Treasury's report that refrained from naming any major trading partners as currency manipulators.

"So it seems like the information being released by the US side is a bit chaotic," she told a daily news briefing.

Hua said it reminded her of a poem by the founder of modern China, Mao Zedong, about remaining calm in the midst of chaos.

"No matter what others say we will continue to steadily promote the reform of the renminbi exchange rate mechanism," she added, without elaborating, using the currency's formal name.

S&P, Dow move higher as bank stocks climb again

The S&P 500 and the Dow indexes rose in morning trading on Wednesday as bank stocks added to gains following strong economic data and encouraging comments from Federal Reserve officials that sealed the case for a December rate increase.
JPMorgan climbed 1.9 percent and Bank of America rose 2.2 percent, making the S&P financial index the biggest gainer among S&P 500 sectors.

Fed chair nominee Jerome Powell said on Tuesday the case for a December rate hike was coming together and also hinted at lighter bank regulation, while Fed chair Janet Yellen said on Wednesday that a strengthening economy will warrant continued rate increases.

"Economic data has been very strong and the economy looks as good now as it ever has," said Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and derivatives for Charles Schwab in Austin, Texas.

The second revision of third-quarter gross domestic product showed growth increased at a 3.3 annual rate, up from the previously reported 3 percent.

The Fed's preferred gauge of inflation, the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index excluding food and energy, rose 1.4 percent in the third quarter, in line with the forecast by economists polled by Reuters.

Investors are keeping a keen eye on progress on US tax bill. Senate Republicans on Tuesday rammed forward the bill, which corporate America is hoping will slash business tax rates, in an abrupt, partisan committee vote that set up a full vote by the Senate as soon as Thursday.
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Dollar hits a year-low, global stocks rally set to end over strong euro

The US dollar sank to its lowest in more than a year against key world currencies on Friday as investors assessed comments from the European Central Bank (ECB) and obstacles to US President Donald Trump's domestic agenda, while world stock markets were poised to snap a 10-session streak of gains.

Gains in the yen, gold and US Treasuries pointed to moves into safe-haven assets compared with stocks that are considered riskier. Oil prices sank more than 1 per cent.

The euro built on sharp gains from a day earlier, rising to near two-year highs against the dollar and undermining European stocks, with Germany's DAX equity index down 1.7 per cent.

ECB President Mario Draghi said on Thursday financing conditions remained broadly supportive, and that the euro's appreciation had "received some attention." However, he did not cite that as a problem nor did he directly try to talk the currency down.

"The fact that Draghi didn't necessarily argue too much against the strength of the euro... certainly gave the greenlight for individuals to want to own the currency again or actually add to their positions," said Dean Popplewell, chief currency strategist at Oanda in Toronto.

MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe shed 0.32 per cent, falling after 10 days of gains.

US stock indexes opened lower, pulling back from record high levels reached earlier in the week.
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Dollar slides on Donald Trump concern, but stocks rise

The U.S. dollar fell on Friday and was set to close its worst week in more than a year, with losses steepening after reports an investigation into possible collusion between Russia and Donald Trump's presidential campaign now include a person close to the President.

Stocks pared gains on Wall Street and Treasury yields hit session lows after the report from the Washington Post. Separately, the New York Times reported more details on Trump's recent meeting with Russian diplomats in the Oval Office.

A senior White House adviser is a significant person of interest in the investigation of possible ties between Donald Trump's presidential campaign and Russia, the Post reported citing people familiar with the matter.

It was the most eventful week of the year so far for financial markets, with many major equity markets scaling record highs and then plunging mid-week in one of the sharpest cross-asset routs in years.

Triggering the move was uproar over Trump's firing of FBI director James Comey and allegations he pressed Comey to stop investigating his former national security chief's alleged ties with Russia.

Stocks on Wall Street pared gains of as much as 1 per cent on the S&P 500. The Friday reports out of Washington came after European markets had closed.

"I'm sure some of (the move in markets) is related to that, and the fact that Trump is going to be out of the country and nobody's quite sure what he's going to do," said Paul Nolte, portfolio manager at Kingsview Asset Management in Chicago, speaking of the latest headlines from Washington.

"We've got two days now to wring our hands about what might happen," he said, adding that the stock market didn't seem too concerned at this point.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average <.DJI> rose 141.82 points, or 0.69 per cent, to 20,804.84, the S&P 500 <.SPX> gained 16.01 points, or 0.68 per cent, to 2,381.73 and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> added 28.57 points, or 0.47 per cent, to 6,083.70.
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