Asian stocks gain on hopes of progress in US-China trade talks

FILE PHOTO: A man stands in front of an electronic board showing the Nikkei stock index outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan - Reuters

TOKYO (Reuters): Asian shares rose on Friday, led by a surge in Chinese equities, on hopes that Washington and Beijing are making progress in trade talks, while global bond yields moved higher after a prolonged slide on worries about the economic outlook.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.5% while Japan’s Nikkei added 1%.

The Shanghai Composite Index climbed more than 2%.

The mood in the markets was brighter after US officials said China has made proposals in trade talks with the United States on a range of issues that go further than it has before, including on forced technology transfer.

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Friday he had a “productive working dinner” the previous night in Beijing, kicking off a day of talks aimed at resolving the bitter trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies.

Gains on Wall Street also bolstered investor optimism. The S&P 500 on Thursday rose 0.36% and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.34%.

Despite recent turbulence, the S&P 500 has gained 12.3% so far this quarter, which would mark its best quarterly performance since 2009 if sustained.

The 10-year US bond yield edged up to 2.403% from a 15-month low of 2.352% touched on Thursday after an almost relentless fall since the Fed’s dovish tone last week sparked worries about the US economic outlook.

Investors have been on heightened alert since the yield on the 10-year note fell below the three-month US Treasury yield last Friday, an inversion of the yield curve that is widely seen as an indicator of a recession.

Data on Thursday showed US economic growth was slower than initially thought in the fourth quarter, with GDP growth revised down to an annualised 2.2% from an earlier reading of 2.6%.

 “The economy is softening and will soften for now. But whether the US is entering a recession is still debatable,” said Mutsumi Kagawa, chief global strategist at Rakuten Securities.

 “Lower bond yields will support the economy while (US President Donald) Trump is likely to take steps to support the economy as he seeks re-election. The economy could pick up later this year,” he said.

In the currency market, the euro stood steady at $ 1.1228 after having slid to a three-week low of $ 1.1214 as speculation grew that the European Central Bank will introduce a tiered deposit rate.

The yen was a shade weaker at 110.785 to the dollar, edging away from Monday’s 1-1/2 month high of 109.70.

The Turkish lira tended its wounds after a 4% plunge on Thursday. President Tayyip Erdogan blamed the currency’s weakness on attacks by the West ahead of nationwide local elections on Sunday.

The British pound crawled up 0.2% to $ 1.3069 after sliding more than 1% the previous day.

Sterling had taken a knock as the prospect of a swift agreement on Brexit faded with the British parliament yet again failing to agree on a way forward.

Oil futures were quickly recovering from the damage caused by Trump’s call for OPEC to boost crude output in an effort to lower prices.

US crude futures traded at $ 59.64 per barrel, up 0.6% on the day and recovering from Thursday’s low of $ 58.20.

Palladium rose 1%. It dropped 6.6% on Thursday and had lost one-sixth of its value from last week’s peak on concerns that an economic slowdown could dent demand.