Forex Marketz Daily Forex News – Fully Markets Update
Asian traders were cautious Friday as the headline Asian and Pacific Rim markets were mixed by the afternoon.
Regional traders are waiting on updates on trade talks between Washington DC and Beijing. Trade talks, once again, have stalled as both sides cannot agree on some core issues.
The Asian benchmark, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 was up three quarters of a percent. The broader Topic index, in Tokyo, was up 0.85 percent.
In South Korea, shares on the Kospi composite index were up 0.86 percent and in Australia, the headline S&P ASX 200 tacked on three quarters of a percent. Most sub-sectors on the ASX 200 were higher.
On the mainland, in China, the Shanghai composite was down 0.1 percent. The smaller Shenzhen composite lost 0.4 percent and shares on the Shenzhen component were down 0.34 percent.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index added 0.72 percent by the afternoon session.
Asian Traders React to Trade Talk Progress and weak Economic Data
Recent economic data is showing that the trade war between the world’s two largest economies is hurting economic growth. There was weaker than expected economic growth numbers from China and Japan as well as from the United Kingdom and Europe.
Overnight, the financial markets were treated to headlines indicating that trade talks have stalled between China and the United States. China wants the U.S. to roll back tariffs before signing a preliminary trade deal and President Donald Trump refuses to commit to that.
Traders are worrying that a “Phase One” will not be signed in time. On December 15, the United States is scheduled to enforce another round of trade tariffs on goods out of China.
Yesterday, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow spoke at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington.
He addressed the current status of trade talks between Beijing and Washington DC. He said that the two nations were “getting close” to a deal but offered no new details. This dampened investor sentiment even further.
