Asia report: Markets rise as China confirms fresh trade talks
Asian markets were boosted on Thursday after Beijing said negotiators from China and the US will meet in October for further trade negotiations.
China's commerce ministry announced that negotiators will meet in Washington following a phone call between senior members of each administration, alleviating fears that the trade war could be stuck in a series of escalations.
Last weekend saw Washington slap 15.0% tariffs on a variety of Chinese goods such as footwear, smart watches and flat-panel televisions, while Beijing responded with new duties on US crude oil, with levies on a further $75.0bn-worth of US goods set to be imposed between September and December (although some analysts said Beijing was going slow in imposing its tariffs).
Michael Hewson, market analyst for CMC Markets UK, said: "For now it appears that markets are looking to the horizon with optimism, then we’ll probably follow a familiar playbook of another President Trump twitter tantrum, which will send markets lower, before we get more talk of possible talks, which then sees markets rise again, before a rinse and repeat."
"At the risk of being cynical we’ve been here so many times before and been disappointed so there is little expectation that this rebound will be any different."
Japan's Nikkei finished the session up 2.1% at 21,085.94, the index's highest close in more than a month, with Hitachi Ltd and Shin-Etsu Chemical Co both rising by around 5%.
Meanwhile, the Japanese yen down 0.1% against the US dollar at JPY106.50.
In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 1.0% at 2,985.87, while the tech-heavy Shenzhen Composite was 0.9% higher at 1,651.63 as investor optimism was stoked by confirmation of new negotiations with the US.
Elsewhere, China's cabinet confirmed plans to cut the reserve requirement ratio for banks in an effort to stimulate lending, with the news sending index heavyweights Agriculture Bank of China and Industrial and Commercial Bank higher.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index remained flat at 26,515.53, with the market remaining subdued after surging in the previous session on the news that a controversial extradition bill would be withdrawn.
The South Korean Kospi rose by 0.8% to 2,004.75 as index bellwether Samsung Electronics climbed by 3.6% after announcing the launch of its long-awaited foldable smartphone.
Brent Crude was 0.25% higher at $60.85, while West Texas Intermediate inched 0.02% lower to $56.25.
Down under, the Australian S&P/ASX 200 finished the day up 0.9% at 6,613.16, its highest level since 6 August, as consumer staples led the index higher.
Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 also rose by 0.9% as it ended at 11,106.67 as companies with reliable dividends, such as power suppliers and property investors, continued to attract investors.
Genesis Energy, Goodman Property Trust and Meridian Energy were all at least 1.8% higher at the end of the session.
Finally, the Australian dollar was 0.24% higher against the dollar at A$1.47, while New Zealand's dollar climbed by 0.41% to NZ$1.57.