SYDNEY, Nov 12 — Asian share markets edged higher today and Europe looked set to follow as investors awaited a speech by President Donald Trump on US trade policy and on news he will likely delay a decision on whether to slap tariffs on European autos.
EU officials said Trump was expected to announce this week that he was delaying the tariff decision on cars and auto parts imported from the European Union likely for another six months.
The news boosted expectations about Trump’s speech later in the day about his administration’s long-running trade war with China.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan climbed 0.5 per cent, following a sharp 1.2 per cent pullback yesterday.
Japan’s Nikkei, which dithered either side of flat most of the day, ended 0.8 per cent higher. But Shanghai blue chips eased 0.2 per cent after bank lending growth undershot analysts’ estimates, while Australian shares were down, too.
E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.2 per cent, while EUROSTOXX 50 futures gained 0.4 per cent.
A positive speech on US-China trade would likely satisfy market participants even without specific details of the “Phase 1” agreement under negotiation, said Jim Paulsen, chief investment officer at The Leuthold Group in Minneapolis.
“It still feels like we’re pretty close to having something done,” Paulsen said yesterday. “Even if it’s meaningless, it will be meaningful.”
Trump wrongfooted markets over the weekend when he said there had been incorrect reporting about US willingness to lift tariffs on China.
Investors also were anxious about the situation in Hong Kong after a violent escalation of protests knocked nearly 2 per cent off Asia-exposed banks HSBC and StanChart.
Hong Kong’s embattled leader Carrie Lam today said protesters who are trying to “paralyse” the city were extremely selfish and hoped all universities and schools would urge students not to participate in violence.
Lam was speaking a day after police shot a protester and a man was set on fire in some of the most dramatic scenes to grip the city during the more than five months of civil unrest.
Boris gets Brexit boost
A partial holiday in the United States had closed the Treasury market yesterday and made for a quiet session on Wall Street. The Dow ended up 0.04 per cent, while the S&P 500 lost 0.20 per cent and the Nasdaq 0.13 per cent.
Treasuries were in demand when trading resumed in Asia, with yields on 10-year notes dropping to 1.9070 per cent and away from last week’s three-month top of 1.97 per cent. They were last at 1.9539.
In currency markets, the main action was in sterling which hit a six-month high on the euro yesterday after the Brexit Party said it would not contest previously Conservative held seats in the UK election.
In a boost for Prime Minister Boris Johnson ahead of the December 12 election, Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage said he did not want anti-Brexit parties to win, so was standing down candidates in seats won by the Conservatives in 2017.
The pound reached 0.8582 per euro, and firmed to US$1.2856 (RM5.33) having risen 0.6 per cent overnight.
Against a basket of currencies, the dollar steadied at 98.224. The euro edged up to US$1.1038 and away from a three-week low of US$1.1015, while the dollar faded to ¥109.26.
Spot gold suffered a third day of declines, to touch its lowest since early August at US$1,447.89 per ounce. It was last trading at US$1,450.44.
US crude gained 28 cents to US$57.14 a barrel, while Brent crude futures added 35 cents to US$62.53. — Reuters
