Asian stocks wary amid hope for progress in trade talks
Equities trade cautiously as investors focus on the latest China-US tariff talks amid reports the White House may extend the deadline for a deal
Sydney — Asian stock markets were in a cautious mood on Thursday as investors hung on for any hint of progress in the latest China-US tariff talks amid reports the White House could extend the deadline for a deal. Bloomberg reported President Donald Trump was considering pushing back the deadline by 60 days, citing people familiar with the matter. Trump, on Wednesday, had said the talks were “going along very well” as they try to resolve the dispute ahead of the initial March 1 deadline. With treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin and trade representative Robert Lighthizer in China for high level talks, investors had been daring to hope for good news. As there have been disappointments before, the reaction in share markets was guarded. Shanghai blue chips were down 0.2%, having jumped 2% on Wednesday to levels last seen in late September. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.2%, although that was off a peak last seen in early October. Japan’s Nikkei edged up...
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