AFP, Hong Kong :
Asian markets were mixed Friday as another rally on Wall Street and data indicating a strong US economy were offset by the increasingly tense trade and technology stand-off between China and the United States.
The Brexit saga also moved back into view, with the pound at three-month lows on renewed concerns Britain will leave the EU with no deal as Prime Minister Theresa May tries to push her divorce deal through again.
And oil prices sank as trade worries overshadowed tensions in the Middle East where the US and Iran are growing increasingly hostile.
New York’s three main indexes rose for a third successive day on the back of better-than-expected housing construction data and a dip in US jobless claims, while solid earnings from Walmart and tech firms Cisco Systems and Nvidia reinforced optimism.
The figures boosted sentiment after almost two weeks of volatility sparked by Donald Trump’s threat, and implementation, of higher tariffs on Chinese imports.
The move threw a spanner in the works for high-level China-US talks that seemed to be close to conclusion and led to a retaliation in kind from Beijing, fanning fears of a painful trade war between the economic titans.
Asian markets were mixed Friday as another rally on Wall Street and data indicating a strong US economy were offset by the increasingly tense trade and technology stand-off between China and the United States.
The Brexit saga also moved back into view, with the pound at three-month lows on renewed concerns Britain will leave the EU with no deal as Prime Minister Theresa May tries to push her divorce deal through again.
And oil prices sank as trade worries overshadowed tensions in the Middle East where the US and Iran are growing increasingly hostile.
New York’s three main indexes rose for a third successive day on the back of better-than-expected housing construction data and a dip in US jobless claims, while solid earnings from Walmart and tech firms Cisco Systems and Nvidia reinforced optimism.
The figures boosted sentiment after almost two weeks of volatility sparked by Donald Trump’s threat, and implementation, of higher tariffs on Chinese imports.
The move threw a spanner in the works for high-level China-US talks that seemed to be close to conclusion and led to a retaliation in kind from Beijing, fanning fears of a painful trade war between the economic titans.
