Tokyo — Asian stocks surrendered earlier gains and dipped on Thursday, with Chinese markets fixed firmly on risks from the China-US trade war and taking little comfort from an apparent easing in business tensions in North America and Europe.The leaders of the US and Canada expressed optimism on Wednesday that North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) negotiations would meet a Friday deadline for a deal, days after the US and Mexico reached a bilateral agreement.But MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 0.2%, with broad gains across the region offset by losses in China.The Shanghai composite index slid 0.8% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.7%. "Investors are relatively pessimistic and cautious for now amid low levels of trading volume, as there are still concerns over the development of the Sino-US trade spat," said Yan Kaiwen, an analyst with China Fortune Securities.US tariffs on another $200bn of Chinese goods are expected to take effect in September...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.