Tokyo — Asian shares were mostly weak on Wednesday, as the mood turned cautious over US-China trade talks. Comments from US President Donald Trump tempered optimism over progress made so far in the talks. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.2%, while Japan’s Nikkei lost as much as 1.4% to hit a one-and-a-half-week low and the Shanghai composite index retreated 0.6%. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 shed 0.31% overnight, losing steam after hitting a two-month high. Trump said on Tuesday he was not pleased with recent trade talks between the US and China, souring the improved market sentiment following weekend comments from US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin that the "trade war" is "on hold". His remarks followed Beijing’s announcement that it would cut import tariffs for automobiles and car parts. Trump also floated a plan to fine ZTE, and shake up its management as his administration considered rolling back more severe penalties. "The market probably b...
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