Stocks rally on US-China talks, China rate cut

By Tom Westbrook

SINGAPORE, May 7 (Reuters) - US stock futures and Chinese markets rose on Wednesday, as investors cheered news of a meeting between top US and Chinese trade officials as a chance to tone down the tariffs, while China cut interest rates and vowed to support stock markets.

"My sense is this will be about de-escalation," US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said of the meeting, scheduled for the weekend in Switzerland.

S&P 500 futures rose about 0.9% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 1.7% by mid-morning. China blue chips rose 0.5% and Japan's Nikkei was broadly flat.

"It suggests that there is perhaps a willingness and enthusiasm on both sides to meet at a high level, so it can't be anything but positive I would have thought," said National Australia Bank's head of foreign exchange research Ray Attrill.

"It's ostensibly positive for Asian FX generally."

The dollar rose slightly on the yen and euro, while China's rate cuts weighed on the yuan and knocked the China-sensitive Australian dollar back below 65 US cents.

South Korea's won, which had been rallying hard with a broad surge in Asian currencies, fell back by more than 1%.

Gold fell 1.4% and oil was about 0.5% higher.

China's central bank governor on Wednesday flagged a 10 basis point cut in its benchmark interest rate and a 50 basis point cut to bank reserve requirements - sending more cash into the banking system.

Simultaneously the financial regulator announced an expanded scheme to send insurance investment into the stock market and promised more steps to support property markets, which investors took as a signal of authorities acting in concert.

"It's kind of reminiscent of the joint press conference starting the stimulus euphoria in September. So that's positive," said Homin Lee, senior macro strategist at Lombard Odier in Singapore.

The US Federal Reserve meets to set interest rates later on Wednesday, with expectations for cuts being dialled down.

Markets imply nearly no chance of a move on Wednesday and only a 33% chance of a cut in June, down from 64% a month ago.

The heaviest fighting in more than two decades has erupted between nuclear-armed neighbours India and Pakistan, with shelling and gunfire over the frontier in Kashmir and India striking targets inside Pakistan.

"It adds another layer to geopolitical tensions," said NAB's Attrill, and would likely push down on India's rupee.

The euro had support above $1.13 with German conservative leader Friedrich Merz elected chancellor in a second round of voting after his alliance with the Social Democrats was dealt a surprise defeat in the first attempt.

(Reporting by Tom Westbrook; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Jacqueline Wong)