London (AFP) – Asian stock markets rallied Monday as investors cheered a breakthrough in US-China trade talks that set the stage for presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping to perhaps finalise a deal, averting an escalation in the world’s biggest trade dispute. However, European stock markets flattened, awaiting interest-rate decisions this week from the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank.
“The renewed hopes for a lessening of trade tensions between the US and China inevitably spilled over to Asian markets,” noted Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor. The dollar and gold prices retreated on easing risk sentiment. Trump arrived in Japan Monday as part of a tour of Asia that could see the president and Xi end their bruising trade war.
Speaking on Air Force One, Trump said he was hopeful of a deal when he sees Xi Thursday, while also indicating he was willing to extend his trip to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. “I have a lot of respect for President Xi and we are going to I think…come away with a deal,” Trump told reporters en route from Malaysia, where comments from US and Chinese negotiators raised hopes of an accord. China’s vice commerce minister, Li Chenggang, said a “preliminary consensus” had been reached.
The progress paves the way for Trump and Xi to meet Thursday in South Korea on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, their first face-to-face meeting since the US leader returned to office. Chinese stock indices closed up more than one percent Monday. Tokyo added 2.5 percent, closing above 50,000 points for the first time, buoyed mostly by new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s pro-stimulus stance.
Seoul, meanwhile, surpassed 4,000 points for the first time, with shares in tech titan Samsung gaining more than three percent and chipmaker SK hynix jumping nearly five percent. The positive sentiment followed a strong finish Friday on Wall Street, after benign US inflation data set the stage for a Federal Reserve interest-rate cut Wednesday, despite a lack of clarity over the health of the US economy owing to the ongoing government shutdown.
On Thursday, the European Central Bank is expected to hold borrowing costs steady for its third straight meeting, with eurozone inflation largely under control.
– Key figures at around 1115 GMT –
London – FTSE 100: FLAT at 9,644.32 points
Paris – CAC 40: FLAT at 8,225.90
Frankfurt – DAX: FLAT at 24,231.56
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 2.5 percent at 50,512.32 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.2 percent at 3,996.95 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.1 percent at 26,433.70 (close)
New York – Dow: UP 1.0 percent at 47,207.12 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1643 from $1.1627 on Friday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3344 from $1.3296
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 152.73 yen from 152.85 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 87.27 pence from 87.43 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.6 percent at $64.83 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.7 percent at $61.10 per barrel
© 2024 AFP
