➤ Trump expects U.S., China to hold face-to-face talks in September.
➤ Manufacturing slump continues in Asia and Europe.
➤ Rating downgrades for Argentina; country seeks to halt peso's fall.
➤ US markets closed for holiday.
The Trump administration began imposing 15% tariffs on certain Chinese goods Sept. 1 as China's retaliatory import duties on U.S. products took effect on the same day. U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly said the two countries would hold for face-to-face talks in September.
The U.K.'s FTSE 100 rose 1.3%, while German DAX and French CAC 40 indices gained more than 0.3% each around 6:30 a.m. ET. In Asia, with the Shanghai SE Composite climbed 1.3%, while Japan's Nikkei 225 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost 0.4% each.
The prolonged trade dispute between the world's two largest economies dented manufacturing activity in Asia in August as the purchasing managers' index for China and Japan remained in contraction amid sluggish export demand. However, a private survey showed that Chinese manufacturing activity improved in August.
Ahead of a planned September meeting between the U.S. and China, Beijing vowed to keep a prudent monetary policy, saying risks to the economy are "controllable."
The eurozone's manufacturing sector downturn also continued, though the PMI reading rose to 47.0 in August from 46.5 in July.
U.S. equity markets were closed for the Labor Day holiday Sept. 2.
In currencies, the British pound lost 0.6% against the dollar, as opposition lawmakers are expected to propose legislation that would block a no-deal Brexit, with U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson threatening to push rebel Conservative lawmakers out if they vote against the government.
U.K. Parliament returns from its summer recess Sept. 3.
The pound will initially gain if MPs are successful in passing legislation in the week ahead, wrote Lee Hardman, currency analyst at MUFG Bank. However, those gains could prove to be short-lived as the path forward remains unclear, with headlines over the weekend suggesting the government could call a general election in response.
Meanwhile, global economic and political uncertainty continued to weigh heavily on U.K. manufacturers during August.
Moody's, Fitch Ratings and DBRS downgraded Argentina on Aug. 30 as the country unilaterally extended the maturity of its short-term debt. S&P Global Ratings upgraded the country's foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings a day after downgrading them.
The Argentina government reportedly wants the central bank to halt the currency's drop, which for August totaled 26%.
The peso slumped 2.80% Aug. 30.
The euro slipped 0.2% versus the U.S. dollar, while the Japanese yen was down 0.1%. The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. currency's performance against a basket of peers, added 0.1%.
Ten-year German Bund yields added two basis points to negative 0.678%. Yields on Italian bonds due in a decade fell 6 basis points as acting Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte prepared to lay out his cabinet lineup to President Sergio Mattarella by Sept. 4.
Brent crude oil declined 0.2% to $59.11 per barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange, while gold gained 0.3%.
More from S&P Global Market Intelligence:
Sovereign ratings wrap: Downgrades for Argentina; Moody's raises Armenia
Hurricane Dorian takes aim at 10.5 million electricity customers in Florida
US housing market: New home sales drop in July; housing starts pick up
US REIT at-the-market usage continues to rise in Q2'19 with $3.11B raised
