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Stocks Gain. US-China Trade Truce Sees ’Goodwill Gestures’ From Both

Stocks Gain. US-China Trade Truce Sees ’Goodwill Gestures’ From Both

David Cottle, Analyst

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Asian Stocks Talking Points:

  • Equity indexes were broadly in the green as the tone between Beijing and Washington continued to mellow
  • Hong Kong was an exception with corporate news weighing
  • The European Central Bank’s policy decision is in focus now

Find out what retail foreign exchange investors make of your favorite currency’s chances right now at the DailyFX Sentiment Page

Asia Pacific stock markets were mostly higher as Thursday’s afternoon got under way. Further signs that the trade ice is melting between Washington and Beijing keeping risk appetite well supported.

US President Donald Trump tweeted on Wednesday that a tariff increase on $250 billion of Chinese goods due to take effect on October 1 will now be delayed until October 15 as a ‘gesture of goodwill.’ Such gestures appeared contagious as China for its part again said that it would consider buying more US farm imports on the same basis.

Sure enough, the Nikkei 225 was up by 1% with Shanghai 0.3% higher. Stocks in Hong Kong were the main exception. There the Hang Seng was down by 0.2%., with individual corporate stories rather more to the fore.

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing slipped following its bid for the London Stock Exchange Group. Brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev said on Thursday that it was continuing to explore a Budweiser Initial Public Offering in Hong Kong, two months after saying a planned listing would be shelved.

The ASX 200 was up by 0.3% with all sectors seeing gains, if usually only modest ones. The bellwether banking sector was well-supported. Of the ‘Big Four’ lenders both Westpac and National Australia Bank both saw their stocks hit 52-week highs in the morning session. Commonwealth Bank and the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group aren’t far off theirs.

Foreign exchange markets also saw clear evidence that investors were comfortable with a little more risk. Perceived havens such as the Japanese Yen remained unwanted while more growth sensitive units such as the Australian Dollar made gains. Gold was also lower while crude oil prices made gains.

US Crude, Daiy Chart

US crude spot prices are in a quite well-respected uptrend, The peak of July 31 still look to be providing tough daily-chart resistance to further gains but a retest looks very likely, probably quite soon, for as long as risk appetite remains robust.

This market’s major focus for the remainder of the session will probably on the European Central Bank. It will set monetary policy on Thursday. A commitment to accommodative settings is very widely expected in the market.

Asian Stocks Resources for Traders

Whether you’re new to trading or an old hand DailyFX has plenty of resources to help you. There’s our trading sentiment indicator which shows you live how IG clients are positioned right now. We also hold educational and analytical webinars and offer trading guides, with one specifically aimed at those new to foreign exchange markets. There’s also a Bitcoin guide. Be sure to make the most of them all. They were written by our seasoned trading experts and they’re all free.

--- Written by David Cottle, DailyFX Research

Follow David on Twitter @DavidCottleFX or use the Comments section below to get in touch!

DailyFX provides forex news and technical analysis on the trends that influence the global currency markets.

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