Asian markets were mixed in early trading Thursday, as the U.S. and China kicked off a new round of trade talks in Washington.
China’s chief negotiator, Liu He, was scheduled to meet with President Donald Trump on Thursday, and Larry Kudlow, Trump’s top economic adviser, expressed optimism that the two sides can come closer to a final agreement this week.
Read: Kudlow hopeful that U.S., China will ‘get closer’ to trade deal as talks resume
Japan’s Nikkei
rose 0.2%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index
retreated 0.5%. The Shanghai Composite
gained 0.4%, and South Korea’s Kospi
advanced 0.2%. Singapore’s Straits Times Index
fell slightly, while Indonesia’s JSX
gained. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200
fell 0.8%
Among individual stocks, Japan Display
rallied in Tokyo trading after a report that it would supply OLED screens for Apple Watches starting later this year. Meanwhile, e-commerce company Rakuten
gained while oil producer Inpex
slipped. In Hong Kong, CNOOC
and AIA Group
fell, along with many companies in the real-estate sector. Samsung
edged up in Korea, while Beach Energy
, Oil Search
and Woodside Petroleum
slid in Australia.
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