Asian shares edge up as trade talks set to resume


FE Team | Published: July 30, 2019 11:57:47 | Updated: August 02, 2019 14:21:43


File Photo (Collected)

Asian shares were mostly higher on Tuesday as envoys from the US and China prepared to resume trade talks, this time in Shanghai.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index climbed 0.3 per cent to 21,687.22 after the Bank of Japan opted to keep its policy intact and leave its benchmark interest rate at minus 0.1 per cent.

The Shanghai Composite index added 0.7 per cent to 2,960.18 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng rebounded from losses that followed clashes between protesters and police over the weekend, gaining 0.3 per cent to 28,202.04. In South Korea the Kospi gained 0.6 per cent to 2,041.17.

Australia's S&P ASX 200 advanced 0.4 per cent to 6,849.90. Shares fell in Taiwan and Bangkok but rose in Singapore and Jakarta, reports AP.

The gains in Tokyo came despite news that industrial production sank 3.6 per cent from the month before in June. Given uncertainties over global demand and trade disputes, economists have been downgrading their growth forecasts, with the BOJ cutting its own annual growth estimate for the current year by 0.1% to 0.7 per cent.

Major US stock indexes closed mostly lower Monday as investors turned cautious ahead of a key Federal Reserve interest policy announcement and other potentially market-moving developments on tap for this week. That includes the government's monthly jobs report for July, which will be released on Friday.

The S&P 500 index slipped 0.2 per cent to 3,020.97. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1 per cent to 27,221.35 and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.4 per cent to 8,293.33.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies slid 0.6 per cent to 1,569.02.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.06 per cent from 2.08 per cent late Friday.

Benchmark crude oil rose 31 cents to $57.18 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It gained 67 cents to settle Monday at $56.87 a barrel.

Brent crude oil, the international standard, gained 32 cents to $63.94 a barrel.

The dollar slipped to 108.59 Japanese yen from 108.78 yen on Friday. The euro strengthened to $1.1139 from $1.1145.

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