US markets rallied following a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report suggesting that US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had floated the idea of lowering tariffs on Chinese goods as both countries continue negotiation on the trade front - Dow up +162.94 points or +0.67%. The broader S&P500 0.76%, while the NASDAQ +0.71%. The WSJ report, however, added that Mnuchin faced push-back from US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, who thinks any concession could be seen as a sign of weakness. Separately, a Treasury Department spokesperson working with the trade team told CNBC: "Neither Secretary Mnuchin nor Ambassador Lighthizer have made any recommendations to anyone with respect to tariffs or other parts of the negotiation with China. This an ongoing process with the Chinese that is nowhere near completion." Elsewhere, there was news late Wednesday (16 January) that federal prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation into China’s Huawei Technologies Co for allegedly stealing trade secrets from American corporations it does business with.
