Asian markets were mixed in early trading Tuesday, after the U.S. said China is no longer a currency manipulator ahead of the signing of a “phase one” trade agreement this week.
The U.S. Treasury Department stepped back from the decision it made last year, saying in a statement that it “has determined that China should no longer be designated as a currency manipulator at this time.”
The U.S. and China are expected to sign a “phase one” trade deal Wednesday in Washington, which the Treasury Department said will include enforceable commitments by China to refrain from currency devaluation and not target its exchange rate for competitive purposes.
“Investors’ unquenchable appetite for stocks is in hyperdrive, triggered by a further thawing in U.S.-China trade tension,” Stephen Innes, chief Asia market strategist for AxiTrader, wrote in a note.
Japan’s Nikkei
gained 0.7% as traders returned from a holiday Monday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index
gave up early gains and was last down about 0.2%, while the Shanghai Composite
was about flat and the Shenzhen Composite
dipped slightly after data showed China’s exports rose 5% in 2019 on yuan terms, the slowest growth in three years. South Korea’s Kospi
rose 0.4%, while benchmark indexes in Taiwan
, Singapore
, Malaysia
and Indonesia
were mostly positive. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200
advanced 0.7%.
Among individual stocks, Sony
Fast Retailing
and SoftBank
advanced in Tokyo trading, while Nissan
sank. In Hong Kong, casino operators Galaxy Entertainment
and Sands China
rose, while AAC
and Geely Automobile
fell. LG Electronics
and SK Hynix
advanced in South Korea, and Taiwan Semiconductor
gained in Taiwan. Beach Energy
and Rio Tinto
rose in Australia.
On Monday, the S&P 500 index
rose 22.78 points, or 0.7%, to 3,288.13. The Nasdaq composite
climbed 95.07 points, or 1%, to 9,273.93, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average
gained 83.28 points, or 0.3%, to 28,907.05.
Benchmark crude oil
rose 13 cents to $58.21 a barrel, after falling 96 cents to $58.08 a barrel on Monday. Brent crude oil
, the international standard, rose 19 cents to $64.39 a barrel.
The dollar
rose to 110.09 Japanese yen from 109.89 yen on Monday.