US stocks set to slide as charges against Huawei ignite fears that China trade talks will fail

Reuters / Lucas Jackson

The Huawei charges are not helping markets.

• The US Justice Department charged Chinese tech giant Huawei with bank fraud and conspiring to steal trade secrets, and it's is not helping market sentiment.
• Asian markets closed with slight declines, European stocks were mixed and US futures are set to open lower.
• "The overriding fear is that this move will negatively impact trade talks, making a deal even less likely," said one market analyst.

Global growth concerns already had investors on edge this week. The US Justice Department charging Chinese tech giant Huawei with fraud and IP theft is not helping.

The Huawei charges come on the eve of key talks between US and Chinese negotiators on Wednesday and Thursday in Washington.

Asian markets closed with slight declines, European stocks were mixed and US futures are set to open lower.

"The timing of the move is important," said Jasper Lawler, Head of Research at London Capital Group. "With trade due to start tomorrow, this is a fairly hostile message that the US is sending out. The overriding fear is that this move will negatively impact trade talks, making a deal even less likely."

Read more: US calls Huawei and CFO Meng Wanzhou national-security threats, indicts company and exec on fraud and IP theft charges

Here's the roundup as of 8.50 a.m. in London (3:50 a.m. in New York):

• US futures for the S&P 500, the Nasdaq, and the Dow are all down at least 0.4%.
• Europe's Euro Stoxx 50 is flat, losing 0.02%. Germany's DAX is down 0.3%, and the UK's FTSE 100 is up 0.6%
• Asian markets closed slightly lower. The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.1% and the Hang Seng fell 0.2%.

The US on Monday charged Huawei, its CFO, and two affiliates with bank and wire fraud in a crackdown on the company, which is legally required to assist China's Communist Party at the government's request.

Huawei tricked a global bank into doing sanctions-violating business with Iran and stole trade secrets from T-Mobile, the US alleges.