Asian shares rise as investors relax about China-US trade war
Their optimism is in sharp contrast to economists’ views on the likely fallout of trade tension
Shanghai — Asian stocks followed global indices higher on Thursday, as investors took a less bearish view on the impact of the US-China trade war on markets — a sharp contrast to economists’ dim expectations for US growth amid the worsening tension. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan took its lead from gains on Wall Street overnight, rising 0.2%. Japan’s Nikkei stock index was flat, with a recent rally appearing to lose steam as it entered its fifth day. Australian shares eased 0.2%. But gains in the MSCI index were tempered as a rebound in Chinese shares faltered, with the Shanghai composite index dropping 0.1%, reversing early gains. Shares in Hong Kong also turned lower as the Hang Seng index edged down 0.04%. The broad index fell despite encouraging signals on investors’ appetite for Hong Kong listings, after a strong debut by Chinese online food delivery-to-ticketing services firm Meituan Dianping. Rob Carnell, chief economist and head of research, Asia-...
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