Markets edge up as tariffs deadline nears

Markets were mostly higher on Thursday.

The S&P 500 rose 0.2 percent and the Nikkei 225 rose 0.7 percent. However, the STOXX Europe 600 dipped 0.1 percent.

Investors remained focussed on the trade war between the US and China ahead of the 15 December deadline for the imposition of fresh import tariffs on the latter's goods by the former.

“We see a relatively good chance that there’s a sort of first phase deal and maybe the December tariffs get pushed out or actually even removed,” said Adrian Zuercher, head of Asia-Pacific asset allocation at UBS Global Wealth Management.

Meanwhile, data in the US showed that factory orders rose 0.3 percent in October, the first gain in three months.

Attention now shifts to the US monthly payrolls report.

“Should the jobs report come in reasonably healthy and the trade negotiations keep moving forward, December will also likely be a better month than the headlines at the start of the month suggested,” said Brad McMillan, chief investment officer at Commonwealth Financial Network.