Asian shares take heart from progress in US-China talks

Tokyo — Asian stocks rose on Tuesday, bolstered by Wall Street’s record closing highs and signs of new momentum in Beijing’s and Washington’s efforts to end their long and acrimonious trade dispute.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.5% to a one-week high. Australian shares were up 0.9%, while Japan’s Nikkei stock index rose 0.91%.

Shares in the region extended gains on Tuesday after Beijing said Liu He, China’s vice-premier and chief trade negotiator, held a call with US counterparts and that both sides reached consensus on solving relevant problems. That followed positive headlines in China and the US, which had helped bolster confidence.

The yen fell to a two-week low vs the dollar, while the Swiss franc traded near a six-week low against the greenback as the optimistic tone sapped demand for safe-haven currencies.

Oil prices erased early losses to edge higher amid cautious optimism about progress towards relieving one of the biggest risks to the global economic outlook.

“The broad trend is the markets are looking for a deal because trade has been the biggest factor weighing on global growth and holding back confidence,” said Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy and chief economist at AMP Capital Investors in Sydney.

“We have a low interest rate environment that is supportive of equities. If we get better economic news and relief from geopolitical risks, equities could rally further next year.”

US stock futures rose 0.21% in Asia on Tuesday.

Wall Street’s three main stock averages closed at record highs on Monday, buoyed by hopes for a trade deal and by M&A activity.

Traders pointed to China’s decision to increase punishments for intellectual property rights violations as a fresh concession to the US in the drawn-out and volatile negotiations.

Investors were encouraged by positive comments from US President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Chinese state-owned media about the chance for an imminent trade deal.

Also driving Wall Street higher was a burst of acquisition activity with France’s LVMH offer to buy US jeweller Tiffany & Co and Charles Schwab’s purchase of US discount brokerage TD Ameritrade.

Despite the recent optimism, a quick resolution to the US-China trade war is far from certain given relations between the world’s two-largest economies have stalled many times before.

The US has imposed tariffs on Chinese goods in a 16-month long dispute over trade practices that the US government says are unfair. China has responded in kind with its own tariffs on US goods.

If both sides cannot reach an agreement soon, the next important date to watch is December 15, when Washington is scheduled to impose even more tariffs on Chinese goods.

In the offshore market, the yuan briefly rose to a one-week high of 7.0188 vs the dollar.

The yen fell to 109.205 a dollar, the lowest since November 12, as safe-haven demand waned.

The Swiss franc, another safe-haven, traded at 0.9971 a dollar, close to the lowest since October 16.

Sterling traded at $1.2904, holding onto overnight gains as polls show the ruling Conservatives as runaway favourites to win a December 12 election with a pledge to implement Britain’s divorce from the EU.

Bitcoin, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency, rose 0.64% on Tuesday to $7,167.99. Bitcoin slumped to a six-month low on Monday after the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) launched a fresh crackdown on cryptocurrencies.

The PBOC is stepping up efforts to roll out its own digital currency, partly to fend off potential threats from Facebook’s proposed digital currency, Libra.

US crude ticked up 0.03% to $58.03 a barrel. Brent crude rose 0.09% to $63.71 a barrel.

Oil traders await data this week that is forecast to show a decline in US crude oil inventories.

In addition, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) meets on December. 5, where the bloc is widely expected to extend supply cuts to mid-2020.

Reuters

Source: businesslive.co.za