Global stocks fell on Tuesday after President Donald Trump suggested that a trade deal with China could be delayed until after the US presidential election in November next year.

The dispute between both countries has curtailed global trade, battered financial markets and soured the outlook for economic growth around the world.

An agreement with China is “dependent” on whether he wanted to make one, the president told media in London on Tuesday, adding that it would "probably be better" to wait until the end of the US election to finalize any accord. 

These comments came shortly after Trump reignited global trade tensions, by reimposing tariffs on metal imports from Brazil and Argentina, while more recently threatening to impose duties on France.

The White House proposed tariffs against $2.4 billion of French imports in response to the European nation’s new digital-services tax, which it said unfairly targets US tech companies.

The US said it would accept public comments from France through at least Jan. 14 before moving forward with the levies.

Separately, Beijing also upped its trade war ante as it retaliated against Mr Trump’s decision to sign legislation supporting protesters in Hong Kong by barring US navy ships from visiting the territory and slapping sanctions on four non-governmental organisations.

These developments look to help extend upon yesterday’s losses, where US stocks registered their biggest one-day drop in two months, after weak readings on factory activity and Donald Trump’s move to reimpose tariffs on metals exports from Brazil and Argentina weighed on sentiment.

The S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite and Dow Jones all fell by the most since October 8, closing lower by -0.85%, -1.02% and -0.98%, respectively.

Ahead, in today’s economic calendar, Tuesday includes; Motor Vehicle Sales for November published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis at 6pm EST.

In corporate news; Salesforce.com (CRM), Marvell Technology (MRVL), Workday (WDAY) and Lands' End (LE) are amongst the major companies scheduled to report their earnings today.

TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES
Trade & Politics: Trump Says Trade War Could Drag On. (The WSJ)
President Trump suggested a trade war with China could drag out past the 2020 election and stoked a tariff spat with France during a visit to Europe for a NATO summit.

ECONOMIC CALENDAR
Today's Economical Announcements.

06:00PM - ★☆☆ - Total Vehicle Sales (Previous: 16.60M)

STOCKS IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Pre-Market Movers & News Related Stocks.

Lands’ End (LE): [EARNINGS & GUIDANCE] Reported third-quarter earnings of 11 cents per share, 2 cents a share above estimates. Revenue came in below forecasts, but comparable-store sales posted an unexpected increase. Lands’ End also gave a better-than-expected current-quarter earnings outlook.

AK Steel (AKS): [BUYOUT] Mining company Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) is buying the steelmaker in a stock swap deal valued at $3.36 per share. 

Plug Power (PLUG): [NEWS] Commenced a 40 million share secondary stock offering.

Audentes Therapeutics (BOLD): [BUYOUT] Agreed to be bought by Japan’s Astellas Pharma for about $3 billion in cash or $60 per share. That’s a premium of more than 100% for the U.S.-based gene therapy company, whose stock closed Monday at $28.61 per share.

UnitedHealth (UNH): [GUIDANCE] Issued a 2020 adjusted earnings forecast of $16.25 to $16.55 per share, compared to a consensus estimate of $16.46 per share. The health insurer’s revenue forecast for 2020 does come in mostly above Street forecasts.

Wells Fargo (WFC): [NEWS] Appointed former Santander USA CEO Scott Powell as chief operating officer, effective Dec. 9. He will report directly to CEO Charles Scharf.

Facebook (FB): [RATING] Rated “overweight” in new coverage at Piper Jaffray, which points to an easing of growth in expenses as well as evidence that neither users nor advertisers have moved away from the platform despite the controversy surrounding the social media giant.

Alphabet (GOOGL): [RATING] Rated “overweight” in new coverage at Piper Jaffray, citing a continued benefit of the shift of ad dollars from offline to online.

Diageo (DEO): [UPGRADE] Upgraded to “outperform” from “sector perform” at RBC Capital Markets, which cited revenue growth in the spirits maker’s higher-priced and higher-margin categories.

Intel (INTC): [NEWS] Is in talks to buy Tel Aviv-based artificial intelligence chipmaker Habana Labs for more than $1 billion, according to Israeli financial publication Calcalist.

Ulta Beauty (ULTA): [RATING] Rated “buy” in resumed coverage at Deutsche Bank, which feels the cosmetics retailer is well-positioned to keep gaining share in what it calls a “favorable corner of retail.”

The Buckle (BKE): [DIVIDEND] Increased its quarterly dividend by 20% to 30 cents per share, and also declared a $1.25 per share special dividend.

MOMENTUM STOCKS
GAINERS: -
DECLINERS: ROKU, TTD, OLLI, MDB, ZM, ZEN

TODAY'S IPOs
None.

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