Tokyo (AFP) – Oil inched higher and Asian markets traded in a narrow range Friday as investors awaited tangible results from US President Donald Trump’s talks in Beijing, while an AI stock boom boosted Seoul to a new record. After warm handshakes and a warning about Taiwan from Xi Jinping on Thursday, the Chinese president and Trump were due to get down to brass tacks on Friday with discussions on trade, geopolitics, and AI.
In its brief readout on Thursday, the White House said the leaders had “agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open to support the free flow of energy”. US Treasury Secretary Bessent said the world’s “two AI superpowers are going to start talking”. In a Fox News interview broadcast late Thursday in the United States, Trump said that China “agreed they want to buy oil” and more soybeans from Washington. China bought small amounts of US oil before Trump imposed tariffs last year and has sharply slowed down purchases of US soybeans, turning instead to Brazil.
“The first day…unfolded as a carefully choreographed state banquet, served on fine porcelain, while traders quietly inspected the cracks beneath the table. The optics were unquestionably constructive,” said Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management. “Still, markets understand the difference between stabilization and resolution. This summit feels less like a peace treaty and more like engineers reinforcing a suspension bridge during a storm,” Innes said.
On Thursday, European and US stock markets had climbed, boosted by a continued tech-fueled rally with Cisco Systems surging 13.4 percent and a chip startup rocketing 68.2 percent on its Nasdaq debut. On Friday, oil prices moved slightly higher, with both Brent North Sea and West Texas Intermediate both up just over one percent.
South Korea’s benchmark Kospi index topped 8,000 points for the first time, buoyed by an artificial intelligence-driven boom in the country’s semiconductor industry. South Korea, home to Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, aims to triple spending on AI this year, aiming to join the United States and China as one of the top three powers in the sector.
Tokyo and Hong Kong both edged down.
– Key figures at around 0300 GMT –
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 1.03 percent at $106.81 a barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.02 percent at $102.20 a barrel
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.28 percent at 61,849.81
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.10 percent at 26,099.34
Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.03 percent at 4,179.20
Euro/dollar: DOWN at 1.1653 from $1.1673 on Thursday
Dollar/yen: UP at 158.50 yen from 158.33 yen
Pound/dollar: DOWN at 1.3376 from 1.3400 on Thursday
Euro/pound: UP at 87.12 pence from 87.09 pence
New York – DOW: UP 0.8 percent at 50,063.46 (close)
New York – S&P 500: UP 0.8 percent at 7,501.24 (close)
New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.9 percent at 26,635.22 (close)
© 2024 AFP
