Singapore — Asian shares edged higher on Thursday, while the euro enjoyed some respite after hitting five-month lows a day earlier. The common currency slumped on Wednesday following a report that Italian populist parties trying to form a coalition government could ask the European Central Bank to forgive €250bn of Italian debt. In equity markets, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.1%, while Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.7%. The gains in Asian shares came after US equities advanced on Wednesday, led by retail and technology shares, even as a rise in US 10-year Treasury yields to an almost seven-year high suggested more competition for equities. "In general, Asian equities are buffered from rising US yields by the constructive tone of the US-China trade talks as well as strong earnings numbers," said Heng Koon How, head of markets strategy for UOB in Singapore. The US and China start trade talks on Thursday intended to avert a damaging tariff war, with the Wh...
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