Asia markets traded higher on Tuesday ahead of trade talks between the U.S. and China.
Japan’s Nikkei 224 and Topix index added 0.99 percent to 21,587.78 and 0.87 percent to 1,586.50, respectively. Meanwhile in South Korea, Samsung’s shares were up 2.41 percent. That pushed Kospi index to rise 1.21 percent to 2,046.25
Chinese markets, the Shanghai composite, the Shenzhen composite, and the Shenzhen component gained 0.29 percent to 2,913.57, 0.21 percent to 1,598.64 and 0.3 percent to 9,474.75, respectively.
Despite the ongoing protests, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index edged higher, rising 0.51 percent in late-afternoon trade. Most sectors in Australia’s ASX 200 rose, pushing the index higher by 0.45 percent to 6,593.40.
US-China Trade Talks
Rahul Khare from ANZ Research in a note said investors have their eyes on the highly anticipated US-China trade talks. He added, “The market continues to debate the degree of easing required from the Fed following the recent fall in unemployment but weakening activity indicators”.
It’s expected that the two economic giants will come back to the negotiating table on Thursday. This is a week before a scheduled increase in United States tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods.
However, recent reports revealed that Chinese officials would narrow the scope of topics they’re willing to discuss. These have rekindled concerns about the chances of any agreement between the two countries.
The recent move of the U.S. to add 28 Chinese firms and public security bureaus to the so-called Entity List may also complicate the negotiations. The list is a black list restricting their ability to do business with U.S. companies.
Chinese tech companies such as SenseTime Group, video surveillance firms Hangzhou Hikvision and Shenzhen-listed Zhejiang Dahua Technology, and IFLYTEK joined the list.
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