Any sign that the world's two largest economies are getting closer to brokering a trade deal should give stock markets a boost.

China and the United States are still talking. They held a call to go over “key issues,” both governments said the next day in nearly identical statements.

China said on Wednesday trade talks with the U.S. were an important step toward bridging gaps but what was really needed was "indispensable" multilateralism to find a way out of global trade turmoil.