One thing not to expect next week is word of a U.S.-China summit to finalize a trade deal, but there could be some Brexit resolution for the U.K. And with a few more companies posting earnings results, the retail and apparel sector could hear of more store closures slated for 2019.
Brexit: On Friday word surfaced that U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May has asked the European Union for “one more push” to get her Brexit deal through Parliament, where talks are slated to continue over the weekend. The country is now facing an impending deadline. It is supposed to exit the EU on March 29, but it doesn’t yet have an agreement in connection with the terms of its withdrawal.
Trade war: First it was that the U.S. and China were making progress in their discussions, enough that the planned tariff hikes slated for March 1 were put on hold. Then word surfaced that the plan was to hold a “signing summit” when an accord is reached, although “when” seemed to be the undefined watchword. As of Friday, Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council and the White House’s top economic advisor, said talks are still ongoing with negotiations being conducted “by phone and teleconference.” Translation: an imminent deal announcement is unlikely. However, Kudlow did hint that Chinese leader and top trade negotiator Xi Jinping could still meet with U.S. President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort club some time later this month or in early April.
Earnings: There’s still a few more companies scheduled to report next week, including StitchFix, Christopher & Bank, Stein Mart and Vera Bradley.