About this episode
Equity-index futures for Japan pointed to a modest gain after chip stocks pushed the Nikkei-225 index lower Monday. Contracts also indicated modest moves for Hong Kong and Australia. US equity-index futures edged lower with cash markets closed Monday for Labor Day. Investors will also be watching Japan's 10-year government bond auction Tuesday, which will be a key test of appetite amid growing expectations of rate hikes by the Bank of Japan and mounting political uncertainty. Stateside, Wall Street's record-breaking stock rally now faces a pivotal test, with jobs numbers, inflation data and the Federal Reserve's rate call all landing within the next three weeks. Tariff tensions and questions over the Fed's independence were also compounding the risks in September, historically the weakest month of the year for US markets. We look at the current market landscape with Michael Hartnett, Chief Investment Strategist at BofA Global Research. He speaks with Bloomberg's Shery Ahn and Avril Hong on The Asia Trade. Plus - Chinese President Xi Jinping secured an agreement from partner countries to set up a new development bank, realizing a longtime ambition in a display of Beijing's growing influence. Members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization agreed to establish the institution, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Monday at the end of the two-day SCO summit that gathered Xi's closest international allies in the Chinese port city of Tianjin. In a joint declaration, member countries including India and Russia expressed opposition to unilateral coercive measures and vowed to facilitate trade within the group. We get reaction from Henry Huiyao Wang, Founder and President of the Center for China and Globalization. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.