Asian stocks rise cautiously after Trump softens trade war rhetoric
Stock markets in Asia climbed cautiously into the green this morning after President Trump made more optimistic comments about the trade war following what he described as two “very good calls” from Beijing.
“China called last night our top trade people and said: ‘Let’s get back to the table,’” he said at the G7 summit yesterday. “So we’ll be getting back to the table, and I think they want to do something.”
Although China has not confirmed the calls Trump referred to, Chinese vice premier Liu He said in separate comments that Beijing wanted to resolve the trade war through “calm” negotiations.
Read more: Global stock markets rise as Trump and China dial down trade war rhetoric
This softening in tone from both sides helped calm Asian markets overnight, with most climbing into the green.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 had risen 0.96 per cent by 7.30am UK time, while Shanghai was up 1.33 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was almost flat – down 0.28 per cent. The exchange has struggled recently due to ongoing political protests in the city.
US stocks also rose following Trump’s more optimistic comments. The benchmark S&P500 closed up 1.10 per cent, while the Dow climbed 1.05 per cent.
The tech-heavy NASDAQ, which has been significantly buffeted by the trade war because of its members’ reliance on China, also climbed – closing 1.32 per cent up.
“Trump’s conciliatory tone after last week’s escalation is just what the markets needed to improve risk sentiment and push higher in such uncertain times,” said London Capital Group analyst Jasper Lawler.
“A lack of confirmation from China indicates this latest headline could just be Trump back peddling after seeing the market’s heavy falls from the previous week. Yet investors are willing to cling on to the optimism stemming from Trump’s softer tone,” Lawler added.
Trump’s comments at the G7 yesterday came after a harsh day of falls for markets on Friday.
The markets suffered a bruising day after the president announced increased tariffs on almost all Chinese goods – a response to retaliatory tariffs of $75bn Beijing.
Main image credit: Getty