Asia markets mixed with eyes on China-us trade
Asian markets swung throughout yesterday as investors weighed Chinaus trade speculation, while the pound struggled to stage a strong recovery from the previous day’s Brexit-fuelled bruising.
As a volatile week drew to a close, some stability emerged in the oil sector with earlier sharp losses tailing off, providing relief to regional energy firms.
Hopes that the world’s top two economies are making efforts to resolve their painful tariffs standoff provided support to global markets, though conflicting reports were keeping any optimism in check.
On Thursday it was reported that China had handed the US a number of trade concessions as part of a move to smooth relations ahead of a G20 summit where Donald Trump is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The Financial Times also said the two sides were stepping up efforts and that US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer had told business leaders the next round of tariffs would be put on hold. While Lighthizer’s office denied that, observers said the news still provided some hope. “Maybe if we can get progress in trade relations, that could be a boost,” Jason Browne, chief investment strategist at Fundx Investment Group, told Bloomberg News.
However, he added that “the benefits are likely to get offset from expectations of continued (interest rate) hikes from the Fed”.
And Stephen Innes, head of Asia-pacific trade at OANDA, said it appeared the two sides were “looking to kick the can down the road until February to resolve some significant differences”. But he warned “the fear here is that this long and winding road to compromise could be dotted with numerous pratfalls”.
After shifting in and out of the red all day, Hong Kong finished 0.3 percent higher, while Shanghai closed 0.4 percent up but Tokyo was off 0.6 percent.
Sydney eased 0.1 percent, Singapore added 0.9 percent, Seoul rose 0.2 percent and Manila surged 1.9 percent. Jakarta and Mumbai were also up but Taipei and Wellington slipped.