Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day

(Bloomberg) --

Good morning. Global stocks are set for another down day as China and the U.S. send contrasting signals on the trade war, speculation is mounting that there will be a U.K. general election, it was another weekend full of protests and there was a surprise CEO exit in the banking sector. Here's what's moving markets.

Going Well?

U.S. President Donald Trump said Saturday that “things are going along very well with China,” just two days after his threat of tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of additional Chinese imports sent global stock markets tumbling. But overnight the news broke that the Chinese government had asked its state-owned enterprises to suspend imports of U.S. agricultural products, a possibly worrying sign. You might be thinking about your summer holiday, but the trade war isn't taking a break.

Election Talk

Boris Johnson is flashing the cash, including on health and policing, which is fueling speculation the new British prime minister is preparing for an early general election, especially after his working majority in Parliament was cut to just one in a special election last week. That could spell even more trouble for the pound, just as a Bloomberg survey of analysts suggests sterling will tumble to the lowest level since 1985 if the U.K. leaves the European Union without a deal. The U.K. currency was little changed overnight.

Weekend of Protests

It was a weekend of street demonstrations. Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam warned of a “ very dangerous situation” as protesters moved to shut down the Asian financial hub on Monday after a ninth straight weekend of unrest in opposition to China's tightening grip. But disruption wasn't limited to Hong Kong –- in Moscow, police detained almost 700 people, including opposition leaders, at protests against the decision to ban anti-Kremlin candidates from running for the city council.

Red Screens

It'll be another day of red screens for equities markets in Europe as the MSCI Asia Pacific Index heads for its biggest decline since October in reaction to the trade war turmoil and Hong Kong disruption, sending haven assets higher. Attention was on China's yuan as the currency weakened past 7 per dollar, a speculated focal point for policymakers. Here's some charts that show how global markets have been upended.

Coming Up...

We'll get services and composite purchasing managers index data from the U.K. and also the euro area, where economic growth is slowing, according to last week's statistics. The corporate earning schedule is much lighter today, with German chemicals giant Linde Plc the only large-cap of note to come. That's after HSBC Holdings Plc's rise in first-half profit was overshadowed by the surprise departure of the Asia-focused bank's chief executive.