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However the White House has indicated it is prepared to walk away from trade negotiations, Bloomberg reported, which could reverse momentum in the world's two largest economies.
Base metal futures were mainly higher in Asian trade following yesterday's disappointing data out of China, with sentiment boosted by further economic stimulus measures.
Markets were mixed across the globe yesterday, with US and European indices closing higher while London and Toronto indices were lower.
An overall lift of 0.37% by gold stocks on the S&P/TSX Composite Index wasn't enough to boost its broader metals and mining sector, which closed down 0.04% yesterday.
Market futures were pointing to a positive start today except in Toronto.
Metal and mining stocks were just in positive territory overall in afternoon Australian trade, where BHP (ASX: BHP) was up 0.1% at the time of writing.
The gold price was about US$4 an ounce lower than this time yesterday, around $1,280/oz.
