EMEA Morning Briefing: Trump Meets Xi for High-Stakes China Summit

MARKET WRAPS

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U.K. GDP, trade, industrial production, business investment; trading updates from National Grid, 3i Group, United Utilities, Klarna, Telefonica, Burberry, Land Securities, ITV

Opening Call:

European stock futures traded higher early Thursday. Asian stock benchmarks were mixed; the dollar inched lower; Treasury yields were flat; while oil futures rose and gold fell.

Equities:

Stock futures point to a stronger open in Europe, after Nvidia's blistering stock rally propelled the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to record highs.

Nvidia became the first company to reach a market capitalization of $5.5 trillion, as the chip maker's chief executive joined a high-stakes China summit that could determine the next phase of the global AI arms race.

President Trump posted on social media that it was an honor to bring Jensen Huang and other executives to the "incredible gathering of the World's Greatest Businessmen/women proudly going to China."

"There's a flat--out shortage in chips and flat--out boom in chip stocks, " said Jay Hatfield, CEO at Infrastructure Capital Advisors. "And no amount of war headlines or even the lack of earnings is going to slow it down."

Forex:

Traders are focusing on the summit between President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing. Trump said the relationship between the U.S. and China "will be better than ever before."

"They look forward to trade and doing business. It's going to be totally reciprocal on our behalf," Trump said in opening remarks during his meeting with the Chinese leader.

"China and the United States both stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation," Xi told Trump at the Great Hall of the People. "We should be partners, not rivals."

"Whatever the outcome of this summit, U.S.-China strategic competition remains the defining geopolitical story of this era," said Michael Strobaek, global chief investment officer at Lombard Odier.

Bonds:

Boston Fed President Susan Collins flagged the possibility that the central bank might need to raise interest rates if inflation pressures broaden in the coming months, even though that isn't currently her most likely outlook for the economy.

Collins pointed to three factors that could help determine whether the Fed would need to raise rates. Most important, she said, are households' and businesses' expectations of future inflation, which have drifted to the high end of their historical range.

Collins said she was also watching whether price pressures spread beyond energy to other goods and services, and the extent to which tariffs continue to pass through the price chain. Wages aren't a significant source of inflation, she said.

Energy:

Oil prices inched higher, as Trump and Xi gathered in Beijing for a two-day summit.

Prices could remain elevated as there is no sign of an imminent diplomatic settlement to the war in the Middle East, XS.com's Samer Hasn said. This could possibly intensify the conflict and hurt the region's oil production and export infrastructure, the senior market analyst added.

Metals:

Gold was volatile. The precious metal doesn't appear to be reacting one-dimensionally to U.S. consumer-price index data anymore, said Linh Tran at XS.com, noting that rising inflation typically boosts Treasury yields and the dollar while weighing on gold.

While the April data initially dragged down gold, the precious metal quickly recovered above $4,700 a troy ounce, suggesting that the market is beginning to reassess its role as a safe-haven asset and store of value, the analyst said. "In an environment where inflation is accompanied by geopolitical tensions, high energy prices, and growth risks, gold still has a strong foundation to maintain its appeal as a defensive asset," she said.

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Copper fell on profit-taking, after topping $14,000 a metric ton. Nonetheless, market participants remain bullish on copper prices, thanks to long-term demand tied to artificial-intelligence infrastructure, grid modernization and the global energy transition, as well as supply constraints, said Tony Sage, CEO of Critical Metals.

The copper market could be exposed to a potential supply deficit over the long term, which could support copper prices, he adds. China's export restrictions on sulfuric acid and Middle East sulfur supply disruptions could also create further tightness in the copper market, he said.

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Iron ore fell in Asian trading. While capital inflows into the broader market have supported prices, iron ore's fundamentals aren't strong enough to sustain current levels, Nanhua Futures analysts said. Analysts also expect seasonal weakness to hurt demand.

TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES

Trump and Xi Begin Superpowers' Summit on Trade and War

BEIJING-President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping reunited on Thursday morning in Beijing, kicking off a summit centered on improving their economic relationship, as the war in Iran and U.S. commitment to Taiwan loom.

Speaking inside the Great Hall of the People, both leaders projected optimism for two days of talks. Xi said he hoped both countries could be "partners, not rivals." Trump responded by calling the meeting "the biggest summit ever," promising the U.S.-China relationship would be "better than ever before."

What CEOs from Tesla, Nvidia and over a dozen other companies hope to gain by joining Trump in China

On his visit to China this week, President Donald Trump is bringing along at least 17 executives from prominent U.S. companies.

Trump said in a social-media post that he'll ask Chinese President Xi Jinping to "open up" China "so that these brilliant people can work their magic, and help bring the People's Republic to an even higher level," adding that it would be his "very first request" to his counterpart.

IEA Warns Recovery From Hormuz Supply Shock Will Take Months

The near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz has unleashed an unprecedented supply shock on global energy markets, one that could keep oil supplies constrained for months even after shipping through the vital waterway resumes, the International Energy Agency said.

The Paris-based energy watchdog-a group of Western nations and their allies-now expects global oil demand to contract by 420,000 barrels a day this year, from its previous forecast of an 80,000-barrel-a-day decline, as disrupted tanker traffic and stalled U.S.-Iran negotiations reverberate through the global economy.

Cisco to Shed Jobs for All-In AI Push

Cisco Systems is cutting thousands of jobs to make room for more artificial intelligence in its business.

The technology conglomerate said Wednesday that it plans to eliminate fewer than 4,000 jobs this quarter, less than 5% of its workforce, so that it can pour more resources into silicon, optics, security and AI.

Cerebras Systems to Raise $5.55 Billion in Year's Largest U.S. IPO So Far

Cerebras Systems is raising $5.55 billion in an initial public offering, the largest such offering in the U.S. so far this year.

The company, which is backed by OpenAI's Sam Altman, said Wednesday it priced its upsized offering of 30 million shares at $185.00 a share. This is higher than its earlier guided range of $150.00 to $160.00 a share.

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Expected Major Events for Thursday

06:00/UK: Mar UK trade

06:00/UK: Mar Index of production

06:00/UK: Mar Index of services

06:00/UK: 1Q Business investment in the UK: provisional results

06:00/UK: Mar Monthly GDP estimates

06:00/UK: 1Q First quarterly estimate of GDP

07:00/SPN: Apr CPI

07:00/SVK: Apr Core & net inflation development

07:00/SVK: Apr CPI

08:00/POL: 1Q Flash estimate GDP

08:30/UK: 1Q Mortgage Arrears and Possessions data

10:00/IRL: Apr CPI

11:30/UK: Apr NIESR Monthly GDP Tracker

23:01/UK: Apr Scottish Retail Sales Monitor

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This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.

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May 14, 2026 00:30 ET (04:30 GMT)

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