Xi-Trump meet could inspire Santa Claus to return to Wall St

THE traditional year-end rally was delayed this year because of trade-war and interest-rate fears. But an amicable meeting between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping was enough to reduce fears that global economic growth would be wiped out by a new Cold War.

The annual December rally looks set to recur this year after Presidents Trump and Xi agreed over dinner in Buenos Aires to suspend all further tariff increases while new negotiations on contentious issues proceed. The US will maintain 10 per cent tariffs on US$200 billion of Chinese imports but will not raise the rate to 20 per cent as threatened, unless there is no progress on structural trade issues over the next 90 days.

Although the dinner between the leaders of the world's two biggest economies at the Group of 20 meeting in Argentia did not yield a formal deal, the reopening of lines of negotiation was enough to celebrate.