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Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has invited Chinese delegates to a new round of trade talks. The news breaks just days after Trump threatened additional tariffs on Chinese goods. Asian equities edged higher on Thursday in response to news braking of potential US-China trade negotiations, and have partially recovered previous losses. While the UK and Europe prepare for the final rounds of Brexit negotiations, the government steps up its contingency planning. The prime minister is set to hold a three-hour cabinet meeting to discuss the eventuality of a no-deal Brexit. US Crude prices rise on the back of a greater-than-expected fall in US inventories. The crypto market has now plunged over 80% from its January highs, beating the infamous dot com bubble burst in 2000, which only managed a 78% drop instead. The market cap now sits at a 10 month low. Asian overnight: Asian markets received a welcome boost, as attempts from the US to restart trade talks with China raised optimism ahead of a whole raft of new tariffs being imposed. Predictably, the Chinese markets led the way, while Australian stocks suffered despite a strong rise in the basic materials sector. This comes after the Australian jobs report which boosted the AUD after a sharp rise in employment change, from -4.3k to 44k. UK, US and Europe: Looking ahead, the focus will be on the central banks, as both the BoE and ECB produce their latest rate decisions. Despite a lack of expectations when it comes to any policy shift, volatility is likely to be heightened for European currencies. In the afternoon, keep an eye out for US CPI, followed by appearances from FOMC members Quarles and Bostic. South Africa: Following weak Producer Price Index data out of the US yesterday, we have seen the dollar soften and commodity prices start to rebound. The Jse Allshare Index is expected to open marginally higher this morning. Tencent Holdings is up 3.44% today suggestive of a positive start for major holding company Naspers. BHP Billiton is up 0.7% in Australia, suggestive of a positive start for locally listed diversified resource counters. Economic calendar - key events and forecast (times in BST) Source: Daily FX Economic Calendar 12pm – BoE rate decision & statement: no change expected in policy, but watch for the voting patterns. Market to watch: GBP crosses 12.45pm – ECB rate decision (press conference 1.30pm): again, no change is expected but hints of further policy direction will influence EUR and European indices. Markets to watch: Eurozone indices, EUR crosses 1.30pm – US initial jobless claims (w/e 8 September), CPI (August): claims to rise to 206K from 203K, and CPI to be 2.7% YoY and 0.1% MoM, from 2.9% and 0.2%. Core CPI to be 2.4% YoY and 0.2% MoM, both in line with July. Markets to watch: US indices, USD crosses Corporate News, Upgrades and Downgrades Impala Platinum FY18 results showed a loss per share of 1486c (FY17 1145c). Aspen Pharmacare FY18 results showed normalised headline earnings earnings per share to have increased by 10%. Morrisons said that underlying first-half pre-tax profit rose 9% to £193 million, while like-for-like sales rose 4.9%. The group has now seen sales growth for eleven consecutive quarters. The dividend was raised to 1.85p, up 11.4%, along with a special dividend of 2p per share. GVC Holdings reported an 8% rise in total group net gaming revenue for the first half, while it expects to save £30 million more in cost savings than originally forecast as part of its acquisition of Ladbrokes Coral. Legal & General has taken on £4.4 billion of pension liabilities from British Airways. Antofagasta upgraded to hold at HSBC KAZ Minerals upgraded to buy at HSBC Navigator Co upgraded to buy at Haitong Nynomic upgraded to buy at Oddo BH IGTV featured video Information has been prepared by IG, a trading name of IG Markets Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients. See full non-independent research disclaimer and quarterly summary.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both set new records, passing the 2900 and 8000 mark respectively for the first time in their history. Focus shifts on talks between the US and Canada on an updated NAFTA, which could be signed in the coming days. Canada’s Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland is now in Washington to carry out negotiations. The previously announced deadline for Brexit talks set for the 18th of October may not be feasible, as rumors spread that it may now be postponed to mid-November. Prices being charged in UK shops rose by 0.1% in August, interrupting a 63 month long deflationary streak. Asian overnight: Optimism surrounding the US-Mexico trade deal and the possible impact it could have on Chinese negotiations have faded somewhat, although for the most part we have seen mild gains throughout the night. Chinese stocks are once again the outlier, with the Shanghai and Shenzhen listed stocks trading in the red. Japanese consumer confidence fell overnight, providing the one macro event of the session. UK, US and Europe: Looking ahead, today has a GDP focus, with the US preliminary GDP figure for the second quarter following on from the French figure this morning. The European data releases are somewhat front-loaded today, with the German Gfk consumer confidence figure falling to 10.5 from 10.5 too. Also keep an eye out for the US crude stockpiles figure later in the afternoon. The insurance company Lloyds of London has announced that it will begin to offer insurance for theft and loss due to natural disasters of around 30 different cryptocurrencies. Banks in Venezuela will soon adopt the "Petro", a cryptocurrency launched by president Maduro's government, as a unit of account. South Africa: Short term gains in global equity markets seem to be paused for the time being as markets consolidate, waiting for the next or updated news item as a directional catalyst. US Index futures are trading flat to marginally higher, while Asian markets are mixed, with movements marginal in both directions. The dollar is trading slightly firmer today and the rand slightly softer. In turn we expect our local (Jse) bourse to open up flat to marginally higher this morning. Tencent holdings is trading 1.2% lower in Asia suggestive of a softer start for major holding company Naspers. BHP Billiton is trading 1.2% higher in Australia suggestive of a positive start for locally listed diversified resource counters. Economic calendar - key events and forecast (times in BST) Source: Daily FX Economic Calendar 1.30pm – US GDP (Q2, 2nd estimate): forecast to be 4.1% QoQ from 2.2%. PCE prices expected to rise 1.8% from 2.5% QoQ, and core PCE prices to rise 2% from 2.2%. Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) is the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation, so should be watched as closely as the monthly CPI figure. Markets to watch: US indices, USD crosses 3pm – US pending home sales (July): forecast to fall 1.1% from a 2.5% drop a month earlier. Markets to watch: US indices, USD crosses 3.30pm – US EIA crude inventories (w/e 24 August): stockpiles to fall by 1.5 million barrels from a 5.8 million barrel drop a week earlier. Markets to watch: Brent, WTI Corporate News, Upgrades and Downgrades Petrofac said that it suffered a net loss of $17 million for the first half, from $70 million in profits a year earlier. Revenue was down 11%, to $3.13 billion, though business performance net profit was up 20% to $190 million. Diploma has said that CEO Richard Ingram has stepped down. The firm added that it was trading in line with forecasts, with revenues expected to rise 7% and operating margins to be similar to the first half of the year. Allianz upgraded to buy at SocGen Duerr upgraded to buy at DZ Bank Scor upgraded to overweight at JPMorgan Stroeer upgraded to buy at HSBC Brunello Cucinelli downgraded to hold at Jefferies Greenyard downgraded to hold at Berenberg Inditex downgraded to underweight at Morgan Stanley Norway Royal Salmon cut to sell at SpareBank IGTV featured video Information has been prepared by IG, a trading name of IG Markets Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients. See full non-independent research disclaimer and quarterly summary.

KO's are not subject to the 50% close out rule, and therefore if the market moves against you you may have to deposit more funds to cover your position. (You're account is still covered by the negative balance protection rule though). If the position closes in a positive your margin is freed up and you take your profit, whilst if it settles against you your margin is freed up and any losses are deducted. Further basic info You buy a bull knock-out if you believe the price of the underlying market will rise. The knock-out levels available will be below the current market price. You buy a bear knock-out if you believe the price of the underlying market will fall. The knock-out levels available will be above the current market price. The maximum loss on a knock-out is the premium (price of the option), plus the knock-out premium, payable only if your position is knocked-out. Each Knock-out has an expiry of 12 months, but you can sell out of your position before the expiry. The Knock-out will settle basis IG’s underlying bid/offer price and you can calculate the corresponding profit or loss just as you would with any other spreadbet or CFD trade: (Difference between opening and closing price) x (amount/point)