Asian shares advance on hopes for US-China trade progress


FE Team | Published: January 18, 2019 12:00:55 | Updated: January 26, 2019 15:05:44


File Photo (Reuters)

Asian shares advanced Friday after investors saw signs of possible progress toward settling the US-Chinese tariff war.

The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.7 per cent to 2,578.73 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 1.1 per cent to 27,039.00. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 added 1.3 per cent to 20,622.24.

Seoul's Kospi advanced 0.5 per cent to 2,118.29. Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 was 0.5 per cent higher at 5,881.00 and benchmarks in Taiwan, New Zealand and Southeast Asia also rose, reports AP.

The S&P 500 index rose 0.8 per cent to 2,635.96. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.7 per cent at 24,370.10. The Nasdaq composite gained 0.7 per cent to 7,084.46.

Benchmark US crude 54 cents to $52.61 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 24 cents on Thursday to close at $52.07.

Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 47 cents to $61.65 per barrel in London. It lost 14 cents the previous session to $61.18.

The dollar advanced to 109.33 yen from Thursday's 109.24 yen. The euro gained to $1.1393 from $1.1388.

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