(The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a

columnist for Reuters.)

By Mike Dolan

LONDON, June 9 (Reuters) - What matters in U.S. and

global markets today

I'm excited to announce that I'm now part of

Reuters Open Interest (ROI)

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on market and economic trends. You can find ROI on the

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X.

Soothed by another resilient U.S. employment report and optimism

about trade deal breakthroughs, stocks are continuing to nudge

higher as all eyes turn to U.S.-China bilateral trade talks in

London on Monday.

I'll discuss this and the rest of today's market news below. In

today's column, I explore a plan for jointly issued euro zone

debt that could be a game-changer.

Today's Market Minute

* Three of President Donald Trump's top aides will meet with

their Chinese counterparts in London on Monday for talks aimed

at resolving a trade dispute between the world's two largest

economies that has kept global markets on edge.

* California National Guard troops were deployed to the streets

of Los Angeles on Sunday to help quell a third day of protests

over President Trump's immigration enforcement, a step the

state's Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, called unlawful.

* Japan is considering buying back some super-long government

bonds issued in the past at low interest rates, two sources with

direct knowledge of the plan said on Monday.

* Trump's move to double tariffs on aluminum imports increases

the risk of a full-blown scrap war with the European Union,

Reuters Open Interest metals columnist Andy Home says.

* Europe's ambition to develop cheap, clean energy has recently

received a harsh reality check, Reuters Open Interest energy

columnist Ron Bousso argues, as power failures and a string of

cancelled renewables projects make clear that the road to

inexpensive power will carry a very high price tag.

London showdown

A top-level U.S. delegation including Treasury Secretary

Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade

Representative Jamieson Greer is in the UK to meet with Chinese

representatives for trade talks. China's vice premier He Lifeng

is also in the UK.

The meeting follows a 90-minute phone call between

Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping last week to restart the

stalled process.

Tensions between the countries remain high, but on a

positive note, there was some relief on Friday from news that

Beijing had granted temporary export licenses to suppliers of

rare earth minerals to the top three U.S. automakers: Ford,

General Motors and Stellantis.

Meanwhile, trade pressures on China's stuttering economy were

all too evident in the latest sweep of May export and inflation

numbers released on Monday.

China's exports to the U.S. plunged 34.5% year-on-year in

May, the sharpest drop since February 2020 when the COVID-19

pandemic upended global trade. The decline in imports from

America also deepened to an annual drop of 18%.

By contrast, Wall Street stocks were buoyed by the April U.S.

payrolls report released on Friday, with the S&P500

gaining more than 1% by the close to reach its highest point

since February. Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are now

back in positive territory for the year.

Nonfarm jobs increased by 139,000 jobs last month, slightly

above consensus forecasts, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said.

While downward revisions to the two prior months' figures are a

cause for some concern, the sweep of the report showed few major

cracks.

Treasury yields rose after the report, with 30-year yields

back within a few basis points of 5% again on Monday

ahead of the week's big long bond auction and the May U.S.

consumer price inflation data release on Wednesday.

Despite President Trump's call for a full percentage point cut

in Federal Reserve interest rates on Friday and his statement

about naming Fed Chair Jerome Powell's successor soon, Fed

easing expectations remain subdued. Futures now only price about

a 70% chance of a move by September and expect only 46 bps of

cuts by yearend.

Outside of the U.S., the Japanese yen firmed to

144.43 per dollar as Japan's economy contracted at a

slower-than-expected pace in the January-March period.

Japan's government is considering buying back some

super-long bonds it issued at low interest rates, according to

Reuters sources. The move would come on top of an expected

government plan to trim issuance of super-long bonds in the wake

of sharp rises in yields.

Be sure to check out today's column, which looks at a novel

proposal for expanding the size and liquidity of jointly issued

euro sovereign bonds. This possible plan comes at a critical

juncture when global investors are looking for possible

alternatives to the dominant U.S. Treasury market.

Chart of the day

China's export growth slowed to a three-month low in May as

U.S. tariffs slammed shipments, while factory-gate deflation

deepened to its worst level in two years, heaping pressure on

the world's second-largest economy on both the domestic and

external fronts. While the trade story has hogged the spotlight

this year, the deflation picture has been brewing for several

years, partly because the country's property bust has depressed

domestic demand.

Today's events to watch

* New York Federal Reserve's May survey of consumer

expectations, U.S. May employment trends (10:00 AM EDT); Mexico

May inflation (8:00 AM EDT)

* U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary

Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer meet

Chinese trade delegation, including China's vice premier He

Lifeng, in London

* Argentina's President Javier Milei meets with French

President Emmanuel Macron in France

Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect

the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is

committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.