Asian stocks retreated from six-month highs on Friday as conflicting signals from China and the United States on progress made in trade talks deflated market hopes of a near term truce to end their damaging tariff war.
In a sign of the anxiety, the pan-region Euro Stoxx 50 futures and German DAX futures eased 0.35% each in early European trading while London’s FTSE futures slipped 0.24%. E-mini futures for the S&P 500 were down 0.3%.
The moves contrast with Thursday’s surge of optimism in global markets on news Beijing and China have agreed to roll back tariffs on each others’ goods as part of the first phase of a trade deal.
MSCI’s gauge of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was off 0.4% at 535.20 points after rising to 538.77, a level not seen since early May. For the week, it is so far up about 2%.
Tokyo’s Nikkei, which earlier in the day climbed to a 13-month high, gave up some of the gains to be last up 0.26%. Chinese shares also reversed course from earlier gains with the blue-chip index flat. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slipped 0.6%.
“The noise coming from Washington DC was not quite so upbeat, with reports of conflicts amongst White House advisors on the merits of the plan,” said Jeffery Halley, senior market analyst at OANDA.
“That said, despite the lack of detail and a concrete timeline for even signing an interim trade deal, progress does at least appear to be being made. As ever, the caveat here is the unpredictable nature of the White House.”
In commodities, prices for livestock and grains, which have been highly sensitive to any the trade tensions, were subdued across the board.
Soybean futures were little changed on lack of follow-through interest after rallying as much as 1% on Thursday.
Prices of lean hogs, which are expected to be in high demand in China amid a deadly swine fever outbreak, also managed only modest gains before settling near recent lows on Thursday.
Crude oil was also lower with U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude losing 22 cents to $56.93 per barrel. Brent was down 11 cents at $62.18.
Safe haven gold, which tends to rise during times of uncertainty, was a tad firmer at $1,469.2 per ounce, having hit a five-week low of $1.460.7 on Thursday.
The Insight Partners is a one stop industry research provider of actionable intelligence. We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We specialize in industries such as Semiconductor and Electronics, Aerospace and Defense, Automotive and Transportation, Biotechnology, Healthcare IT, Manufacturing and Construction, Medical Device, Technology, Media and Telecommunications, Chemicals and Materials.
Severity: Warning
Message: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable
Filename: amp/news_details_amp.php
Line Number: 252
Backtrace:
File: /home/smartmarketnews/public_html/application/views/amp/news_details_amp.php
Line: 252
Function: _error_handler
File: /home/smartmarketnews/public_html/application/controllers/Amp_controller.php
Line: 41
Function: view
File: /home/smartmarketnews/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once
Smarter Decisions with Smart News
Smart Market News is committed to getting its readers the latest updates and insights on industries that help in making “smarter” business decisions. With insights and inputs from corporate decision makers, we bring you the stories of adopting innovative solutions and strategies that have been changing the world. Our editorial insights on products, solutions, companies, and adoption of best practices not only help in understanding the markets better, but also prove to be a complete package for your information needs.
media@smartmarketnews.com | sales@smartmarketnews.com
Contact Us