By Investors Hub
Asian stocks rose on Tuesday amid renewed hopes of further progress in U.S.-China trade talks on signing a partial deal. Sentiment got a further boost after the Financial Times reported that the U.S. is considering dropping tariffs on $112 billion worth of Chinese imports.
President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to meet in the U.S. soon to sign the first phase of a trade deal between the world’s two largest economies.
China’s Shanghai Composite Index climbed 16.07 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,991.56 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 136.10 points, or 0.5 percent, to 27,683.40 after China’s Foreign Ministry said Xi and Trump have been in constant contact through “various means.”
Japanese shares hit a 13-month high as traders returned to their desks after a long holiday weekend. The Nikkei 225 Index jumped 401.22 points, or 1.8 percent, to 23,251.99, its highest level since October 10 of last year. The broader Topix closed 1.7 percent higher at 1,694.16, its higher level in more than a year.
Construction machinery maker Komatsu jumped 5.4 percent and Hitachi Construction Machinery advanced 5.1 percent on hopes for a U.S.-China trade deal.
Chip-related stocks surged, with Sumco Corp. ending up over 3 percent and Renesas Electronics soaring 7 percent.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group rallied 2.4 percent after saying it would book a 277 billion yen ($2.56 billion) gain in the second quarter under income on equity method investments.
Fujifilm Holdings jumped 6.7 percent after it agreed to end a 57-year-old joint venture with Xerox Holdings Corp. Z Holdings, formerly known as Yahoo Japan Corp., soared 16.4 percent after the e-commerce firm reported an 11 percent rise in operating profit in the July-September quarter.
Seoul stocks gained ground for the fourth straight session on hopes of an interim trade deal between the United States and China. The Kospi rose 12.40 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,142.64, with technology, auto and steel stocks pacing the gainers.
Australian markets fluctuated before finishing slightly higher after the Reserve Bank adopted a wait-and-see approach by holding its key interest rate at a historic low of 0.75 percent.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index inched up 10.20 points, or 0.2 percent, to 6,697.10, while the broader All Ordinaries Index ended up 11.80 points, or 0.2 percent, at 6,811.60.
Westpac Banking Corp. lost 2.6 percent after the country’s second-largest lender announced the completion of an A$2 billion share placement. The other three big banks rose between 0.4 percent and 0.8 percent.
Strength in oil prices pushed energy stocks higher, with Woodside Petroleum and Origin Energy rising around 1 percent.
Mining heavyweights BHP and Rio Tinto gained more than 1 percent each, while gold miners Evolution, Newcrest Mining and St Barbara tumbled 2-3 percent.
In economic news, the services sector in Australia expanded at a faster rate in October, the latest survey from the Australian Industry Group revealed with a Performances of Services Index score of 54.2, up from 51.5 in September.
