Before the open the S&P 500 looked set for a glum end to the week, with futures pointing to a 0.4% fall after a 2.2% decline in China's CSI 300 index. That followed indications from China's state media downplaying the prospects of a successful outcome to trade talks with the US. China's top trade negotiator Liu He said that the US would need to give ground to ensure an agreement, removing all additional tariffs imposed on China and conceding that purchases of US goods should be in line with real demand. Pessimists over US stocks also observe that the S&P 500 has so far fallen only modestly in response to the more precarious trade outlook, and is less than 2.5% from April's all-time high.