Asian markets surge; Chinese stocks jump as trade tensions ease

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Asian stock markets jumped in early trading Friday, reflecting investor relief about upcoming trade talks between China and the U.S., as well as the dollar‘s gains against a basket of major currencies including the yen.

President Donald Trump on Thursday said he had a good talk with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and that trade talks were “moving along nicely.” The two will meet formally later this month, with investors hoping a deal will be reached to ease trade tensions.

Japan’s Nikkei














NIK, +1.23%












  recovered after yesterday’s losses, and was last up 1%. Earnings season cast a pall on some stocks though. Suzuki Motor Corp.














7269, -4.63%












  was down 4% following its earnings report after the closing bell yesterday. Its second-quarter operating profit slid 6.6% amid weaker sales in Europe, China and India — its biggest market. After a down day Thursday, telecoms rallied Friday, with Nippon Telegraph & Telephone














9432, +5.38%












  up 5% and NTT DoCoMo














9437, +3.03%












  rising 2%.

Chinese benchmarks were sharply higher amid hopes of easing the trade conflict, with the Shanghai Composite














SHCOMP, +1.56%












  up 1% and the smaller-cap Shenzhen Composite














399106, +2.34%












  advancing 1.7%. Insurers and brokerage firms led the gains while oil stocks were muted as oil prices slumped.

Hong Kong stocks surged, with the Hang Seng Index














HSI, +2.60%












  up 2.3%. Sunny Optical














2382, +9.25%












 jumped 7% with index heavyweight Tencent














0700, +6.62%












  adding 6%. Auto stocks saw renewed buying with Great Wall














2333, +5.76%












  and Geely Auto














0175, +7.03%












  up 4.7% and 5% respectively. Among casino stocks, Galaxy Entertainment














0027, +7.77%












 rose 7% and Wynn Macau














1128, +8.98%












  gained 9%. “The attitudes of both Chinese and U.S. leaders have been productive, bringing more positivity to the meeting at the end of the month,” said UOB Kay Hian stock strategist Ivan Ip.

Apple Inc.














AAPL, +1.54%












  component manufacturers were mostly unaffected by the tech giant’s after-hours slump following record quarterly earnings but a warning of slower holiday sales. Taiwan’s Taiex














Y9999, +0.50%












  rose, as Foxconn














2354, +1.06%












  , Taiwan Semiconductor














2330, +0.21%












 and Largan Precision














3008, +5.85%












  all gained. South Korea’s Kospi














SEU, +2.21%












 was up more than 2% as Samsung














005930, +1.90%












 and SK Hynix














000660, +3.22%












  gained.

Australia’s ASX 200














XJO, -0.28%












  was the region’s only loser, as the energy and financial sectors pulled down the index. Oil Search Limited














OSH, -1.93%












  was off 2% and ANZ Bank














ANZ, -1.35%












  was off 1.3%. New Zealand’s benchmark index














NZ50GR, -0.06%












  rose slightly.

Benchmark indexes in Singapore














STI, +1.02%












 , Malaysia














FBMKLCI, +0.04%












  and Indonesia














JAKIDX, +0.07%












  were also up.

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Source : MTV