By Investors Hub
Asian stocks rose broadly on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump said that Washington was in the “final throes of a very important deal.”
Trump?s comment came after the Chinese commerce ministry said that top negotiators from the U.S. and China have reached a common understanding on resolving problems toward the signing of a phase one trade deal.
Chinese shares fluctuated before ending lower after official data showed China’s industrial profits declined at a faster pace in October due largely to falling producer prices and slowdowns in production and sales growth.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index slipped 3.87 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,903.19, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index edged up 40.08 points, or 0.2 percent, to 26,954.00.
China’s industrial profits decreased 9.9 percent on a yearly basis in October following a 5.3 percent decrease in September. This was the third consecutive decrease. During January to October, industrial profits logged an annual fall of 2.9 percent.
Japanese shares moved higher for the fourth straight session in light of more upbeat signals from U.S.-China trade talks. The Nikkei 225 Index rose 64.45 points, or 0.3 percent, to 23,437.77, while the broader Topix closed 0.3 percent higher at 1,710.98.
A cheaper yen helped lift exporters, with Hitachi and Fujitsu ending up over 2 percent each. Resource stocks such as Sumitomo Metal Mining and Inpex Corp. also rose around 2 percent on trade deal hopes.
Australian markets rose sharply, with financials and resource companies leading the surge after Trump said the United States and China are close to an agreement on the first phase of a trade deal.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed 63.10 points, or 0.9 percent, to 6,850.60, while the broader All Ordinaries Index ended up 60.80 points, or 0.9 percent, at 6,950.60.
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group rose half a percent after the lender said it is not aware of any impending litigation from the financial crimes watchdog. Commonwealth Bank shares rallied 1.2 percent.
Worley, a leader in engineering, procurement and construction for the energy, chemicals and resources sector, jumped 2.7 percent after signing an enabling agreement with ExxonMobil Global Services Company.
Rio Tinto gained 1.1 percent after the mining giant said it had approved a $749 million investment in its Greater Tom Price operations.
Gold miner Evolution Mining soared 5.1 percent after it agreed to buy Newmont Goldcorp’s Red Lake gold mining complex in Canada.
Grocery chain Woolworths Group advanced 1.3 percent on news its CEO Brad Banducci would forgo his bonus following an underpayment scandal.
South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.3 percent to 2,127.85. The country’s consumer sentiment index climbed to 100.9 in November from 98.6 in October, survey results from the Bank of Korea revealed. This was the highest score since last April, when it was 101.6.
Adedapo Adesanya