Stocks mixed, dollar gains as trade news awaited

Stocks were mixed on Tuesday as investors searched for direction amid lower growth forecasts and tax cuts in China and speculation that a Sino-American trade deal is near. Treasuries dipped while the dollar strengthened for a fifth day.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index erased an earlier gain, with automakers dragging the gauge lower, while S&P 500 futures edged up before coming off their session highs.

Earlier, shares declined in Japan, Korea and Australia and posted modest gains in China as Premier Li Keqiang’s annual work report to the National People’s Congress showed a lower target for gross domestic product growth. Stronger-than-expected economic activity in the euro area helped the single currency pare its decline.

After stocks in Europe and Asia found support on Monday from news that the world’s two-largest economies were close to a trade deal, investors are now hungry for concrete details before they push a global equities rally further. Trade and slowing growth are on the agenda as China’s most powerful officials gather in Beijing, while investors will get the latest read on the U.S. economy with the monthly jobs report Friday.

Elsewhere, Indian stocks recouped early losses made after the U.S moved to end key trade concessions for New Delhi. Gold futures slid for a seventh straight session, the longest slump since March 2017.