Today, Chinese and American representatives are due to sign the document that took them months to draft, which lays the foundations for the new rules that will govern trade relations between the two powers in the years to come. An agreement at the very least for the moment, despite the volume that this represents. Much remains to be done before we reach the framework initially desired by Donald Trump. Indeed, his Secretary of the Treasury reminded us of this yesterday, which caused some turmoil in markets that seem quite candid.

Steven Mnuchin indicated that the United States does not intend to reduce the customs surcharges on China until "phase 2" of the agreement is signed. Washington wishes - logically - to retain a powerful lever for the subsequent negotiations, which promise to be much more complicated. As for the agreement of the day, it will probably be made public in parallel with the signature scheduled for 11.30 a.m. in the federal capital. Only one annex will remain confidential, the one detailing the amounts of purchases of US products by China.

Corporate publications continue today, with two new U.S. banks in the spotlight: Bank of America and Goldman Sachs.

Meanwhile, Boris Johnson seems confident that a trade agreement will soon be signed with Europe. The Prime Minister is trying to reassure and said on the BBC channel that a trade agreement with Europe by the end of the year was very likely.

Meanwhile, India is moving towards stagflation. Two years earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was leading the Indian economy with optimism. Growth was 8% and the country was on its way to becoming a key global player. Now, a period of stagflation (rising inflation + stagnation of output) seems to be looming. The economy is heading towards its slowest growth rate for more than a decade and inflation has peaked, above the threshold set by the central bank at 4%, mainly due to rising food prices. Household consumption is an important factor to consider. The decline in consumption was somewhat influenced by the withdrawal of the 500 and 1000 rupee notes in 2016 in an effort to deal with money laundering.  

Does BlackRock care about the climate? The global asset management giant will abandon investments that are not "sustainable" due to climate change. Larry Fink, CEO of the company since 1988, said that "awareness is changing rapidly and I think we are on the verge of a fundamental overhaul of finance". However, according to a report from the Washington DC-based Majority Action and the Climate Majority Project, Blackrock has voted overwhelmingly against the key climate resolutions at energy companies, including a resolution at ExxonMobil’s annual shareholder meeting, and at Duke Energy.

Finally, Iran says it has arrested several people linked to the January 8 incident. The country is aware of this and the whole world is watching the investigation. President Hassan Rohani said that US policy was behind this mistake but that this does not excuse the mistake of Iranian officials, which led to the deaths of 176 people on board the Ukrainian International Airlines plane.

Today's agenda includes France's final estimate for December inflation, followed by monthly data for UK GDP and European industrial production. In the United States, investors are awaiting producer prices and the Empire State index, the Conference Board's leading indicator index, weekly oil inventories and the publication of the Fed's Beige Book. Speeches by Federal Reserve bankers are also scheduled in the afternoon.