Asian shares up on hopes of fresh trade talks


FE Team | Published: July 24, 2019 11:12:35 | Updated: July 26, 2019 14:32:08


File Photo (Collected)

Asian stock markets rose Wednesday following a report US and Chinese trade envoys will meet for talks next week.

Benchmarks in Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney all advanced.

The Shanghai Composite Index gained 1.2 per cent to 2,933.67 and Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.5 per cent to 21,728.04. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 1.0 per cent to 28,745.75.

Seoul’s Kospi was 0.5 per cent lower at 2,098.74, according to AP report.

Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 gained 0.9 per cent to 6,782.20. New Zealand, Taiwan and Southeast Asian markets declined.

On Wall Street, stocks were broadly higher after major companies reported solid second quarter gains.

The benchmark S&P 500 index rose 0.7 per cent to 3,005.47. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also rose 0.7 per cent, to 27,349.19. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.6 per cent to 8,251.40.

Benchmark US crude gained 21 cents to $56.98 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 55 cents on Wednesday to close at $56.77.

Brent crude, used to price international oils, advanced 17 cents to $63.83 in London. It gained 57 cents in the previous session to $63.83.

The dollar declined to 108.14 Japanese yen from Tuesday’s 108.23 yen. The euro slipped to $1.1245 from $1.1150.

Share if you like