London — Global equity markets rallied and the Japanese yen fell on Tuesday as Chinese President Xi Jinping’s promise to cut import tariffs eased investor concerns about an escalating US-China trade row. Russian assets extended Monday’s slide as investors digested the new round of US sanctions targeting Russian tycoons. The Russian rouble plunged more than 4% against the dollar to its lowest since late-2016. Speaking at the Boao Forum for Asia in Hainan province, Xi vowed to open China’s economy, protect the intellectual property of foreign firms, and criticized isolationism in his first public comments since the trade dispute with US President Donald Trump’s administration erupted. Xi’s comments prompted a largely positive reaction in financial markets, which have been rattled over the past week on fears the tit-for-tat US-China tariffs will explode into a full-scale trade war in a blow to global growth. European markets followed their Asian counterparts at the open with solid gain...
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