Asia markets enjoy positive end to volatile week
Most Asian markets rose again yesterday following a record close on Wall Street as trade war fears are tempered by hopes China and the US will eventually reach a compromise, while attention turns to the start of earnings season.
Equities have had a rollercoaster week, with strong US jobs figures providing initial support before Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs on another US$200 billion of Chinese imports sent investors running for the hills on Wednesday.
However, Beijing’s measured response to the warning and indications from both sides that they are willing to talk has instilled trading floors with a little optimism heading into the weekend.
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Thursday told lawmakers the White House was “available” for discussions with China.
That came after China’s Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen said the economic superpowers “should sit down and try to find a solution to this trade problem”.
News that China’s trade surplus with the US, a major cause of Trump’s anger, hit a record in June added to the tensions.
Expectations that US companies will report a surge in April-june earnings have also helped deflect attention from the possibility of a damaging trade war.
All three main indexes ended higher in New York with the Nasdaq hitting a fresh record thanks to a rally in the tech sector.
And those gains filtered through to Asia, with the Nikkei in Tokyo ending 1.9 percent higher thanks to a weaker yen, while Hong Kong added 0.2 percent. Seoul and Taipei each gained more than one percent, while Singapore added 0.2 percent.