Business

Asian shares rise on optimism about US-China trade deal

Posted December 04, 2019 6:00 am

By YURI KAGEYAMA

Traders Robert Arciero, left, and Timothy Nick work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019. Stocks are opening broadly higher as traders became more hopeful that a trade deal between the U.S. and China was making progress. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) The Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) - Asian shares were rising Thursday amid renewed hopes a U.S. trade deal with China may be nearing, despite tough recent talk from President Donald Trump.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 0.7% to 23,300.03 in early trading, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added nearly 1.0% to 6,671.90. South Korea's Kospi inched up nearly 0.1% to 2,070.44. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 0.6% at 26,228.38, while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.7% to 2,897.99.

Shares on Wall Street finished higher, with the gains snapped a three-day losing streak for the S&P 500. The U.S. market has swung sharply for months on every hint of progress about talks between the world's largest economies, and Asian regional indexes have tended to reflect those fluctuations.

In the latest development, Bloomberg News reported that U.S. negotiators expect a 'œPhase 1'ť trade agreement to be completed before U.S. tariffs are set to rise on Chinese products Dec. 15.

The report came a day after Trump said he wouldn't mind waiting until after the 2020 elections for a deal, a remark that officials reportedly called off the cuff but nevertheless sent markets skidding.

'œThe trade war will be the key driver of sentiment in the immediate few weeks,'ť DBS Group analysts wrote in a report.

The S&P 500 rose 19.56 points, or 0.6%, to 3,112.76. Despite recovering some losses, the index is still down 0.9% for the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 146.97 points, or 0.5%, to 27,649.78. The Nasdaq composite gained 46.03 points, or 0.5%, to 8,566.67. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks picked up 11.27 points, or 0.7%, to 1,613.90.

ENERGY:

Benchmark U.S. crude lost 21 cents to $58.22 a barrel. It climbed $2.33, or 4.2%, to $58.43 per barrel Wednesday, as members of OPEC prepare to meet later this week and vote on production levels. Brent crude, the international standard, slipped 7 cents to $62.93.

CURRENCIES:

The dollar rose to 108.91 Japanese yen from 108.68 yen Wednesday. The euro weakened slightly to $1.1084 from $1.1088.

___

AP Business Writers Alex Veiga and Stan Choe contributed.

Traders Fred DeMarco, left, and Edward Curran work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019. Stocks are opening broadly higher as traders became more hopeful that a trade deal between the U.S. and China was making progress. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) The Associated Press

Trader Robert Charmak works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019. Stocks are opening broadly higher as traders became more hopeful that a trade deal between the U.S. and China was making progress. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) The Associated Press

Specialist Michael O'Mara, left, and trader Patrick Casey work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019. Stocks are opening broadly higher as traders became more hopeful that a trade deal between the U.S. and China was making progress. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) The Associated Press

Trader Frederick Reimer works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019. Stocks are opening broadly higher as traders became more hopeful that a trade deal between the U.S. and China was making progress. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) The Associated Press

Specialist James Denaro, right, and trader David O'Day, center, work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019. Stocks are opening broadly higher as traders became more hopeful that a trade deal between the U.S. and China was making progress. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) The Associated Press

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