Asian stock markets surged in early trading Wednesday as traders turned optimistic after trade talks between the U.S. and China were extended for a third day.
President Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday that the mid-level talks in Beijing were “going very well,” and Bloomberg News reported the president was eager to reach a deal in hopes that it would boost the sagging stock market. While the current talks are not expected to resolve trade tensions, officials have said they hope they can serve as a stepladder to more fruitful negotiations.
The talks were “fuelling investor optimism suggesting there might be a light at the end of the trade war tumultuous tunnel,” Stephen Innes, head of Asia Pacific trading at Oanda, said in a Wednesday research note. “Markets already hope the base case scenario to be favorable and talks to continue into Davos later this month.”
Japan’s Nikkei
rose 1.4%, as Nintendo
jumped about 3% and beverage maker Sapporo Holdings
surged 5%. Nippon Steel
gained 1.7% despite its South Korean assets being frozen over a World War II-era dispute over compensation for forced laborers.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng
gained 2.4%, as Apple
component makers AAC
and Sunny Optical
soared after a report that Apple will cut iPhone production by 10% this quarter. Geely Automotive
shares rallied after being hammered Tuesday after issuing a disappointing forecast.
In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite
advanced 1.5% and the smaller-cap Shenzhen Composite
rose 1.5%.
South Korea’s Kospi
rose nearly 2% behind gains by Samsung
, LG Electronics
and steel maker Posco
.
Australia’s ASX 200
gained nearly 1% as energy stocks such as Beach Energy
and Woodside Petroleum
rallied on rising oil prices. Apple suppliers such as Foxconn
and Largan Precision
helped fuel gains for Taiwan’s Taiex
, and Singapore’s benchmark
rose 1%.
Markets appeared unfazed by a prime-time address Trump gave Tuesday night on border security. “Trump did not declare a national emergency, nor did he hint toward one, which might have been a fear before the speech,” Innes said in his note. Meanwhile, “currencies are holding firm riding the wave sentiment from the positive buzz in U.S.-China trade talks.”
The dollar
climbed to 108.91 yen from 108.75 yen.
Oil prices also continued to rally. U.S. crude
rose 80 cents to $50.58 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It has risen for eight of the past nine days and gained 2.6% to $49.78 per barrel on Tuesday. Brent crude
, used to price international oils, added 79 cents to $59.51 per barrel. It gained 2.4% to $58.72 a barrel in London.
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