Stocks regain ground after yuan stabilizes

Stocks regained ground around the world and U.S. futures ticked higher after China’s central bank signaled it wouldn’t let the yuan fall much further, a day after escalating trade tensions triggered sharp declines on Wall Street.

The Treasury Department on Monday officially declared China a currency manipulator, after the yuan fell to more than a 10-year low against the U.S. dollar overnight.

“In recent days, China has taken concrete steps to devalue its currency, while maintaining substantial foreign exchange reserves despite active use of such tools in the past,” the Treasury Department’s statement read. “The context of these actions and the implausibility of China’s market stability rationale confirm that the purpose of China’s currency devaluation is to gain unfair competitive advantage in international trade.”

Around 7:45 a.m. ET, Dow futures recovered to indicate a positive open of about 179 points, after tanking in after-hours trading Monday evening. Futures on the S&P and Nasdaq were also higher Tuesday morning.

Shares of companies whose future prospects hang in the balance because of the trade war led the rebound in premarket trading. Caterpillar, Apple and Micron all traded higher in early trading. Ford rose after an upgrade by Morgan Stanley.

However, there is no end in sight to the battle royal between the U.S. and China.