Asia report: Markets rise on back of US-China talks

Markets in Asia finished in positive territory on Wednesday, with sentiment remaining higher as trade talks between Washington and Beijing came to a close in the Chinese capital.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was up 1.1% at 20,427.06, as the yen remained stable against the dollar, last trading at JPY 108.75.

The broader Topix index gained 1.1% too, closing the Tokyo session at 1,535.11.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite added 0.71% to 2,544.34, and the smaller, technology-heavy Shenzhen Composite was up 0.54% at 1,306.95.

South Korea’s Kospi was 1.95% higher at 2,064.71, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong surged 2.27% to close at 26,462.32.

Technology plays were the day’s winners in Seoul, with Samsung Electronics ahead 3.94% and SK Hynix rocketing 7.43%.

Steelmakers were also on the front foot, with Posco shares up 4.07% by the end of the session.

Trade discussions between officials from both the US and China ended in Beijing on Wednesday, having extended into a third day unexpectedly.

The talks - which were originally set down for two days - started on Monday, and were being held at the vice-ministerial level.

China’s foreign ministry said the outcome of the talks would be revealed shortly.

There was optimism among analysts that the summit would have some sort of positive outcome, with Mizuho Bank head of economics and strategy Vishnu Varathan noting that a joint statement would be a more meaningful gauge on what both sides had agreed on than anything previously.

“Even if a deal is cobbled together, the more strident trade hawks in the White House and Trump may not sign off. And we have watched that movie before,” Varathan added.

He did caution that there was a likelihood that a preliminary agreement coming out of these discussions was likely to fall short of a “comprehensive deal”, as described by Donald Trump at the G20 summit.

Oil prices continued to rise as the region went to bed, with Brent crude last up 2.56% at $60.26 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate adding 2/77% to $51.20.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.98% to 5,778.30, with the energy subindex up 1.94% on the back of rising oil prices.

Of the major energy firms on the Sydney bourse, Beach Energy was up 5.17%, Santos rose 1.4%, and Woodside Petroleum added 2.25%.

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 was lifted 1.4% to 8,947.22, led higher by specialist dairy exporter A2 Milk, which rose 3.7%.

The company is a major exporter of infant formula to China, with any lift in sentiment there affecting its share price.

Both of the down under dollars were stronger on the greenback, with the Aussie last ahead 0.39% at AUD 1.3951, and the Kiwi advancing 0.88% to NZD 1.4745.