United States and Chinese negotiators meeting in London signalled progress toward defusing this year’s tariff dispute, with several outlets reporting that the two sides have reached a preliminary framework for a trade agreement. The talks are aimed at easing the 145% U.S. tariff on Chinese goods that took effect in April and has rattled global supply chains. Early optimism lifted U.S. equities on Tuesday, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 105 points and the S&P 500 approached record levels. Sentiment cooled a day later after details of the outline deal remained scant and May consumer-price data showed a softer-than-expected 0.1% increase. The S&P 500 slipped 0.27% on Wednesday and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.5%, while futures pointed to further modest declines. European shares were little changed and the dollar drifted as investors waited for concrete commitments from Washington and Beijing. In Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 gained for a fourth straight session, briefly recapturing the 38,500 mark, and oil-and-gas stocks led an early rally in Mumbai. The Indian market reversed course on Thursday: the BSE Sensex dropped 823 points, or 1.0%, to 81,691.98 and the Nifty 50 lost 253 points to 24,888.2 amid renewed worries over trade and heightened Middle East tensions. Traders now look to upcoming inflation releases and any formal announcement of the London accord to determine whether the nascent progress can translate into a comprehensive pact capable of stabilising global growth and financial markets.