Asia shares hobbled by trade strain, pound up on Brexit talk

SYDNEY: Asian shares were struggling to avoid a ninth straight session of losses yesterday as the spectre of a further escalation in the Sino-US trade war haunted investors, while the pound perched at a five-week top on hints a Brexit deal might be nearer.

EMini futures for the S&P 500 edged up 0.15 per cent, while financial spreadbetters pointed to small opening gains for the major European bourses.

Japan’s Nikkei fared better on the back of a softer yen and rallied 1.3 per cent.

Weighing on the yen was news Japanese chipmaker Renesas was buying US peer Integrated Device Technology for about US$6.7 billion in cash.

MSCI’s broadest index of AsiaPacific shares outside Japan eased 0.05 per cent, but did hold above lows last visited in July last year.

Shanghai blue chips dipped 0.2 per cent while South Korea fell 0.2 per cent as investors awaited the next round of trade hostilities.

Having warned last week that he was ready to levy additional taxes on practically all Chinese imports, US President Donald Trump was uncharacteristically quiet on trade on Monday.

China has cautioned it will respond if the United States takes any new steps on trade.

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland will meet the US Trade Representative in Washington on Tuesday for another round of talks to renew the NAFTA trade pact.

On Wall Street, the Nasdaq eked out gains to end four sessions of losses but stocks of insurers slipped as Hurricane Florence barrelled toward the US east coast.

The Dow fell 0.23 per cent, while the S&P 500 gained 0.19 per cent and the Nasdaq 0.27 per cent.

In currency markets, sterling stood out after the European Union’s top negotiator said an agreement for Britain to leave the economic bloc might be reached in the coming weeks.

The pound has been under pressure on anxiety that Britain would exit from the EU without any formal trading arrangement.

Sterling clambered up to US$1.3050, after firming 0.8 per cent overnight. — Reuters