US equity markets retreated for a fourth session albeit settled off their session lows as President Trump disclosed that he received a “beautiful letter” from Chinese President Xi and suggested that there was scope for a deal - Dow down -139-points or -0.54%, paring an earlier ~450-point decline. Chevron Corp gained +3.14% after the company said it will not submit a new offer to acquire Anadarko Petroleum and will collect a US$1B break fee. The oil major also said it's increasing share repurchase rate by 25 percent to US$5B per year. The broader S&P500 down -0.30%, while the technology-centric NASDAQ lost -0.41%. Uber Inc priced its initial public offering at US$45 per share late in the session, setting the stage for the company to begin trading Friday at a market valuation of ~$82B - below the $100B the ride-hailing company had indicated to some investors in April. China's vice premier Liu He will dine with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and other US officials in Washington this morning AEST, just hours before the new tariffs are imposed. Goldman Sachs penned a research note observing that "details in the notice implementing the tariff hike indicate that exports that have already left Chinese ports before May 10 will not be subject to the increase. This creates an unofficial window, potentially lasting a couple of weeks, in which negotiations can continue and generates a 'soft' deadline to reach a deal."
