UNB News Bangkok :
Shares were mixed in Asia on Friday after White House officials said China and the U.S. were getting close to an agreement to cool tensions over trade.
London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.3% to 7,314.36. Germany’s DAX rose 0.4% to 13,233.58, and France’s CAC 40 jumped 0.8% to 5,946.03. Wall Street also looked set for gains, with the futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 picked up 0.3%.
Markets have swung from euphoria to alarm as officials in Beijing and Washington offered conflicting opinions about the state of the negotiations over ending a tariff war between the two largest economies.
On Thursday, Assistant to the President for Trade and Manufacturing Policy Peter Navarro said in comments to Fox TV that the two sides were “on a glide path” toward agreement.
“We’re going to get a great deal,” he said when asked about comments by Chinese officials who said Beijing expects the U.S. side to gradually roll back some of the billions of dollars’ worth of tariffs imposed on Chinese exports by President Donald Trump in an effort to get China to change its trade and technology policies. China has reciprocated with punitive tariffs of its own. Both sides are feeling the pinch and more tariff hikes could be imposed in December if the talks fail.
Trump’s economic advisor, Larry Kudlow also said the two sides were close to a deal.
That was good enough for investors gauging the prevailing winds a month after the two sides announced they were working on a Phase 1 agreement that would be followed by more complex negotiations.
In Asian trading, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.7% to 23,303.23 and the Kospi in South Korea added 1.1% to 2,162.18. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed flat at 26,326.66, while the Shanghai Composite index lost 0.6% to 2,891.34.
Australia’s S&P ASX 200 advanced 0.9% to 6,793.70, while the Sensex in India jumped 0.6% to 40,555.95. Shares rose in Taiwan, Singapore and Jakarta but fell in Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur.
Markets have been gaining ground for weeks on hopes that the U.S. and China can make progress in their latest push for a deal. Investors have also been encouraged by surprisingly good corporate earnings and data showing the economy is still growing solidly.
The Federal Reserve has helped, lowering interest rates three times this year. The central bank has signaled that it’s done lowering rates, for now, unless the U.S. economy shows any major signs of trouble.
Investors hope that Washington and Beijing will reach an agreement to avert the new and potentially more damaging tariffs that are scheduled to take effect in the middle of next month. They would hit some popular consumer products, such as electronic devices. Trump dismissed making any changes to tariffs while negotiations continue.
“Trump wants good news to help the economy hold up ahead of the Presidential election and to offset the impeachment. Going through with the scheduled December 15 tariff hike on a range of consumer goods would be shooting himself in the foot,” Shane Oliver of AMP Capital said in a commentary.
Shares were mixed in Asia on Friday after White House officials said China and the U.S. were getting close to an agreement to cool tensions over trade.
London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.3% to 7,314.36. Germany’s DAX rose 0.4% to 13,233.58, and France’s CAC 40 jumped 0.8% to 5,946.03. Wall Street also looked set for gains, with the futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 picked up 0.3%.
Markets have swung from euphoria to alarm as officials in Beijing and Washington offered conflicting opinions about the state of the negotiations over ending a tariff war between the two largest economies.
On Thursday, Assistant to the President for Trade and Manufacturing Policy Peter Navarro said in comments to Fox TV that the two sides were “on a glide path” toward agreement.
“We’re going to get a great deal,” he said when asked about comments by Chinese officials who said Beijing expects the U.S. side to gradually roll back some of the billions of dollars’ worth of tariffs imposed on Chinese exports by President Donald Trump in an effort to get China to change its trade and technology policies. China has reciprocated with punitive tariffs of its own. Both sides are feeling the pinch and more tariff hikes could be imposed in December if the talks fail.
Trump’s economic advisor, Larry Kudlow also said the two sides were close to a deal.
That was good enough for investors gauging the prevailing winds a month after the two sides announced they were working on a Phase 1 agreement that would be followed by more complex negotiations.
In Asian trading, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.7% to 23,303.23 and the Kospi in South Korea added 1.1% to 2,162.18. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed flat at 26,326.66, while the Shanghai Composite index lost 0.6% to 2,891.34.
Australia’s S&P ASX 200 advanced 0.9% to 6,793.70, while the Sensex in India jumped 0.6% to 40,555.95. Shares rose in Taiwan, Singapore and Jakarta but fell in Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur.
Markets have been gaining ground for weeks on hopes that the U.S. and China can make progress in their latest push for a deal. Investors have also been encouraged by surprisingly good corporate earnings and data showing the economy is still growing solidly.
The Federal Reserve has helped, lowering interest rates three times this year. The central bank has signaled that it’s done lowering rates, for now, unless the U.S. economy shows any major signs of trouble.
Investors hope that Washington and Beijing will reach an agreement to avert the new and potentially more damaging tariffs that are scheduled to take effect in the middle of next month. They would hit some popular consumer products, such as electronic devices. Trump dismissed making any changes to tariffs while negotiations continue.
“Trump wants good news to help the economy hold up ahead of the Presidential election and to offset the impeachment. Going through with the scheduled December 15 tariff hike on a range of consumer goods would be shooting himself in the foot,” Shane Oliver of AMP Capital said in a commentary.
