Asian markets mostly rose Tuesday, recovering from the previous day’s pounding, after Donald Trump said China-US trade talks would resume soon, though the president’s sharp changes in tone are keeping investors on edge.
Regional equities tanked and the yuan plunged Monday in response to news at the weekend that Washington would hike tariffs on more than half-a-trillion dollars of Chinese imports after Beijing unveiled levies on tens of billions of dollars of US goods.
Trump’s call for US firms to pull out of China and comments about not needing the country added to the sense of dread that the trade war would deepen and run for some time.
However, investors who had run for the hills in the morning returned in later trade after he said in a G7 news conference in France that negotiations would resume very soon and Beijing had telephoned saying it wanted to strike a deal.
He later described the talks as “more meaningful than at any time”, while China’s top negotiator called for calm and said he opposed any escalation in the stand-off.
While the remarks were too late to fuel a meaningful recovery in Asia, stocks in Europe and the US rallied.
Tokyo ended up one percent, Shanghai put on more than one percent and Sydney rose 0.5 percent.
Seoul, Singapore, Wellington, Taipei, Jakarta and Mumbai also posted healthy gains. - AFP
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