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MARKETS-WORLD-STOCKS
Asian markets bounce back on US-China trade talks
HONG KONG, Aug 17, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Asian markets opened higher Friday
after a positive lead from Wall Street and Europe, with investors cautiously
optimistic about upcoming US-China trade talks.
Negotiators from Washington and Beijing will meet later this month in the
first publicly announced meeting in weeks on their bitter trade dispute,
which has seen both sides impose reciprocal tariffs on goods worth $34
billion.
The news helped global markets regain composure after several days of
volatility induced by Turkey’s financial crisis, and fears that its troubles
could infect other economies.
Tokyo was rose 0.5 percent, Hong Kong added 0.4 percent, and Shanghai edged
up 0.1 percent in early Asian trade.
Despite the boost, analysts have said a quick resolution of the trade spat
between the world’s top two economies is unlikely, with more US tariffs in
the works on further Chinese goods.
Markets were “cautiously optimistic” about prospects of resolving the trade
war after Beijing announced it would send a representative to Washington,
although Rodrigo Catril of National Australia Bank noted the “relatively low
rank of the negotiators” meant reaction was guarded.
Fears also remain about Turkey’s financial crisis despite the recent
stabilisation of the lira, after Washington warned that it would levy more
economic sanctions on Ankara if it did not released a jailed American pastor.
Meanwhile, sentiment on Wall Street was also boosted by Walmart’s strong
earnings. The three main New York indices all closed up.
Boeing and Caterpillar, two companies seen as especially vulnerable to the
US-China trade war, rose too.
With a mixed mood in the markets after a troubled week, investors have
taken positions in safer stocks as tensions have not completely subsided,
analysts say.
“I don’t think we’re quite out of the woods yet,” Marcus Miholich of State
Street Global Advisors told Bloomberg News.
– Key figures around 0300 GMT –
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.5 percent at 22,309.65
Hong Kong – Hang Seng: UP 0.4 percent at 27,225.25
Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 2,707.50
Dollar/yen: UP at 110.88 from 110.86
Euro/dollar: UP at 1.1379 from $1.1377
Dollar/Turkish lira: UP at 5.8495 from 5.80
Pound/dollar: DOWN at 1.2716 from $1.2720
Oil – Brent Crude: DOWN nine cents at $71.34 per barrel Oil – West Texas
Intermediate: DOWN five cents at $65.41 per barrel
New York – Dow Jones: UP 1.6 percent at 25,558.73 (close)
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.8 percent at 7,556.38 (close).
BSS/AFP/MR/ 0952 hrs