Asian traders traded cautiously, on Thursday, despite hopeful comments regarding the ongoing trade war between the United States and China. U.S. officials are currently in Beijing negotiating with their counterparts hoping to hammer out a deal before the March 1 deadline.
Traders ended up being more cautious by the afternoon as they wait for clarity and more details regarding progress as the negotiations advance.
The Asian benchmark in Japan, the Nikkei 225, was up a tad. Shares of Fast Retailing recovered from earlier losses. Their stock was up one percent.
Elsewhere in the Asian and Pacific Rim, the Australian S&P ASX 200 reversed early gains to trade lower to flat by the afternoon. The heavily weighted financial sub-index fell 0.82 percent.
Asian Traders Closely Monitor Trade Comments as Negotiations Continue
Traders are digesting reports that President Donald Trump might be willing to extend the March 1 deadline by 60 days. This March deadline means higher tariffs on Chinese imports into the United States.
There was import and export data out of China this morning, as well. This was a small boost to their markets. Dollar denominated exports for January gained 9.1 percent annually. January exports contracted by 3.2 percent from a year earlier. In December, they fell 4.4 percent.
January dollar-denominated imports, for January, fell 1.5 percent annually. This was better than expected. Imports for December were down 7.6 annually.
The markets on the mainland were mixed, despite the data, by the afternoon. The Shanghai composite lost 0.32 percent. The Shenzhen composite was up 0.125 percent and the Shenzhen component gained a fraction
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index lost 0.37 percent.