And finally, the Dow has closed 108 points higher, or 0.44%.

Worries over the prospect of a deeper US-China trade war were tempered by Larry Kudlow’s suggestion that Donald Trump could cut a deal with president Xi.

But Wall Street still felt nervous, with traders worrying what might happen at the G20 meeting.

Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on hundreds of billions more Chinese imports has worried investors - as it would hurt companies such as Apple.

General Motors shares ended in the red, down 2.5%, after being roasted by the president on Twitter.

That’s all for today. GW

It’s looking like a quiet finish to trading in New York.

With 15 minutes to go, the Dow is up 75 points or 0.3% at 24,715, the S&P 500 is 0.2% higher, and the Nasdaq is flat.

Donald Trump is right to criticise Theresa May’s trade deal, according to a former UK cabinet minister.

Peter Mandelson, who also served as an EU trade representative, says the US president was talking “perfect sense” when he said the UK would struggle to sign a trade deal with America.

If we enter the transition period immediately after Brexit on 30 March next year, we will still be bound by all EU rules – without having a say over them – for a period of at least 21 months. The prime minister herself has begun to suggest that this transition period will need to be extended and article 132 of the withdrawal agreement says this extension could last until 31 December 2022. This would mean that for almost four years, the UK would have to follow all EU trade rules and stay inside the customs union.

While it may be possible to begin negotiating a new trading relationship with some countries if they were interested during the transition, nothing could be implemented before the transition period had expired. Nor is it clear that there would be anything to negotiate beyond that point, if there is no solution to the Irish border question. That’s because the backstop is deployed in the absence of a solution, so the UK remains in the customs union indefinitely. None of this would make negotiating a notional trade deal with the UK a high priority for other countries, including the US.

CNBC have more details of Larry Kudlow’s comments on trade, and Trump’s willingness to make a deal with China:

Washington and Beijing have re-engaged about a path toward a trade agreement, and the summit offers “an opportunity to break through what has been disappointing discussions” in recent months, Kudlow told reporters on Tuesday.

At the G-20, Trump will focus on issues including alleged Chinese theft of intellectual property, ownership of American companies in China and tariffs and non-tariff barriers, the National Economic Council director said.

“We’re having now a lot of communication with the Chinese government at all levels,” Kudlow said. “We were at a total standstill. Nothing was going on.”

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders has been asked about president Trump’s tweets about GM.

However, she couldn’t give more details about any withdrawal of subsidies, saying:

“I don’t know that there is a specific timeline.”

Shares in GM are now down 3% following Trump’s blast.

President Donald Trump is open to reaching a trade deal with China but is prepared to go ahead with more tariffs if one isn’t struck, National Economic Council director Larry Kudlow has said, via Marketwatch.

Apple shares are still under pressure, down 1% at $173.31.

The threat of fresh US tariffs is worrying traders, as UBS analyst Timothy Arcuri explains:

Apple is a significant employer in China and this administration has urged the company to move more manufacturing to the U.S.,”

. “This could simply be a negotiating tactic ahead of the G20 Summit later this week, though we do note that this administration has proven a willingness to push forward with such actions.

David Madden of CMC Markets UK sums up the day:

Stock markets are in the red following yesterday’s bullish move. Fears regarding, US-China trade, Italy’s budget and Brexit all play into the mix. President Trump warned that that levy on Chinese imports might be increased, and further tariffs could be announced. This dampened investors’ hopes about a deal being struck at the G20 summit.

European stock markets have closed, with small losses across the board.

The FTSE 100 ended 19 points lower at 7,016, a small reversal on Monday’s rally.

Well, this might be awkward.

Apple CEO Tim Cook and Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and advisor, are visiting schools in Idaho together on Tuesday.

They’ll be dropping in on Idaho’s Wilder School District, which has signed up to Apple’s ConnectEd program. That means all students at two schools, Wilder Elementary and Wilder Middle-High School, receive iPads as part of a $100m grant from Apple.

Teachers received MacBooks and iPad minis.

Ivanka sounds excited about it; perhaps a bright pupil might ask about trade wars?....

Capital Economics has spotted some worrying signs in today’s US consumer confidence report:

Although they have generally picked up over the past couple of months specifically, the shares of respondents planning to buy a home, motor vehicle or major appliance remain lower than their 2017 peaks.

That shift in sentiment is already showing up in weaker housing activity, and we suspect it won’t be long before that weakness starts to spread to other rate-sensitive sectors of the economy.

Wall Street is recovering some of its early losses, in choppy trading.

The Dow is now down 100 points, having been 200 points south just after the open.

Just in: US consumer confidence has dipped, but remains high by historical standards.

The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index slipped to 135.7 this month, down from 137.9 in October. It’s a bigger fall than expected.

According to the Board, Americans are a little less optimistic about future business conditions and their own wage growth. More positively, consumers’ assessment of current conditions increased slightly, with job growth the main driver of improvement.

The trade war jitters could see Apple lose the crown of being America’s most valuable company.

Its market capitalisation has dropped to around $815bn in early trading, I reckon. That takes it below Microsoft, which is currently worth some $817bn.

Less than four months ago, Apple was celebrating becoming the first US company to be worth one trillion dollars. Recent stock market volatility has taken a big chunk out of its value.

Fiona Cincotta, senior market analyst City Index, explains why Apple’s shares are vulnerable to trade war fears:

Preparing the ground for the talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping this Saturday President Trump has laid out his threats.

He plans to increase tariffs to 25% on $200 billion in Chinese-made goods if a deal is not reached and potentially bringing in tariffs on imports of iPhones and Macbooks made in China. While China is not budging on the tariff front – it is responding in kind to any US tariff increases– the country has been addressing the issue of opening up to foreign investments and companies.

Some reaction to the US house price data:

Donald Trump launched his trade war with China back in March, by proposing tariffs on $60bn of imports.

This was followed with 10% tariffs on another $20bn of goods (which Trump is now threatening to increase to 25% in January).

Beijing retaliated both times, making US goods more expensive. Worryingly, there are now signs that these tit-for-tat moves have hurt China’s economy.

Bloomberg has spotted that several indicators of business conditions and market sentiment have weakened -- including stock market valuations and small business confidence.

Their chief Asia economist Chang Shu warns:

“Early indicators point to further weakness in the Chinese economy.

The economies of China’s major trading partners continued to decelerate. The weakness in the equity market would not only impact sentiment, but also constrain firms’ liquidity.”

Just in: UK retail sales have been stronger than expected this month, but shopkeepers are anxious about the future.

That’s according to the latest ‘distributive trades’ survey from the CBI. Here’s the main findings:

• 36% of respondents reported that sales volumes were up in the year to November, while 17% said they were down, giving a balance of 19%
• Retailers expect sales volumes to pick up next month (+22%), with 34% expecting them to rise and 12% to fall
• Sales were poor for the time of year in November, with a balance of (-10%), an improvement on October (-22%)
• The volume of orders placed upon suppliers recovered in November, with 36% of survey respondents reporting a rise and 21% reporting a fall, giving a balance of +15%. Firms anticipate that orders will grow at a similar pace next month (+15%)
• Retailers expect their overall business situation to deteriorate over the next three months (-9%)

Look who’s in Beijing today....

We’ve not seen much of David Cameron since he quit Downing Street shortly after the 2016 EU referendum, and took delivery of a new £25,000 shed in which to write his memoirs.

Last December he got a new job, running a £750m fund to improve transport links between China and its trading partners, as part of the Belt and Road initiative.

So perhaps that’s why he’s in the Chinese capital today, for talks with premier Li Kequiang.

The trade war is a major headache for China, as it tries to manage its economic transformation while avoiding a sharp economic slowdown.

With US relations looking ropey, Beijing needs allies in other parts of the world. So it may be significant that China’s president Xi has just landed in Spain for an official visit, ahead of the G20 meeting in Argentina.

Xi is expected to meet with King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia for an official palace reception, followed by talks with prime minister Pedro Sanchez.

Spanish newswire EFE says the visit is aimed at “strengthening strategic ties between the two countries”. It will also give Spanish firms a chance to invest in Chinese infrastructure projects such as the Belt and Road Initiative.

EFE adds:

Xi will also visit the Senate, the City Hall of Madrid and end his visit with a gala dinner at the Royal Palace hosted by the Spanish royal couple.

A business forum with the executives of major Spanish and Chinese companies is also scheduled to be held to promote investments in both countries.

Trump’s trade war threats have taken the shine of Europe’s stock markets today.

After a strong rally on Monday, the trading floors are more subdued today.

Britain’s FTSE 100 has dipped back into the red, as Thomas Cook’s profits warning dampens the mood. Shares in banks and oil producers are also down, while utilities (a classic defensive stock) are up.

Russ Mould of stockbrokers AJ Bell says the markets are in “limbo”, awaiting developments on the US-China trade dispute.

“Interestingly investors didn’t seem troubled by a new warning from US President Donald Trump who said he is likely to go ahead with a hike on tariffs on Chinese goods. The Shanghai composite index was barely changed and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index only dipped 0.17%.

“The market is perhaps waiting for Mr Trump’s upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping to see whether the current talk simply amounts to scare tactics or whether he is serious about targeting additional Chinese goods with tariffs.”

Over in the City, shares in holiday firm Thomas Cook have plunged by a third after another profits warning.

Thomas Cook surprised investors by rushing out its financial results this morning. They show that underlying profits for 2018 would be £30m less than expected at £250m – £30m lower than it was expecting two months ago.

The company has also suspended its dividend, which helped to send shares slumping to a six-year low.

Thomas Cook blamed this summer’s heatwave, which encouraged Brits to stay at home.

More here:

Baird analyst William Power says Trump’s threatened tariffs on Apple products are another blow to the tech giant, on top of existing worries about iPhone demand.

Yesterday afternoon President Trump alluded to possible tariffs on iPhones and other Apple products, which is likely to create fresh demand concerns following recent supply chain rancour.

While we take the negative supply chain comments with the proverbial grain of salt, there’s little question that higher iPhone prices due to potential tariffs would likely negatively impact demand and profitability at some level. We certainly acknowledge the near-term risk, but remain positive on the long-term position and would buy on weakness.

Beijing have responded to Donald Trump’s comments.

Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters that presidents Trump and Xi had agreed to reach a ‘mutually beneficial’ arrangement on trade earlier this month.

Commodity prices have also been hit by Trump’s threat to hike existing tariffs on China, and possibly extend them to all Chinese imports.

Traders are calculating that a full-blooded trade war will hurt demand for metals such as zinc, nickel and aluminium

Shares in UK tech firm Dialog Semiconductor, a key Apple supplier, have dropped 2.2% in early European trading.

Apple shares fell over 2% in after-hours trading, following Trump’s threat to escalate the trade war.

Wall Street is clearly concerned that the dispute with China could escalate in 2019, hurting sales of iPhones.