Asian markets were mixed in early trading Tuesday, after the U.S. said China is no longer a currency manipulator ahead of the signing of a “phase one” trade agreement this week.
The U.S. Treasury Department stepped back from the decision it made last year, saying in a statement that it “has determined that China should no longer be designated as a currency manipulator at this time.”
The U.S. and China are expected to sign a “phase one” trade deal Wednesday in Washington, which the Treasury Department said will include enforceable commitments by China to refrain from currency devaluation and not target its exchange rate for competitive purposes.
“Investors’ unquenchable appetite for stocks is in hyperdrive, triggered by a further thawing in U.S.-China trade tension,” Stephen Innes, chief Asia market strategist for AxiTrader, wrote in a note.
Japan’s Nikkei
NIK, +0.61%
gained 0.7% as traders returned from a holiday Monday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index
HSI, -0.18%
gave up early gains and was last down about 0.2%, while the Shanghai Composite
SHCOMP, -0.05%
was about flat and the Shenzhen Composite
399106, -0.05%
dipped slightly after data showed China’s exports rose 5% in 2019 on yuan terms, the slowest growth in three years. South Korea’s Kospi
180721, +0.40%
rose 0.4%, while benchmark indexes in Taiwan
Y9999, +0.37%
, Singapore
STI, +0.31%
, Malaysia
FBMKLCI, -0.58%
and Indonesia
JAKIDX, +0.26%
were mostly positive. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200
XJO, +0.65%
advanced 0.7%.
Among individual stocks, Sony
6758, +2.17%
Fast Retailing
9983, +2.36%
and SoftBank
9984, +3.44%
advanced in Tokyo trading, while Nissan
7201, -2.68%
sank. In Hong Kong, casino operators Galaxy Entertainment
27, +3.44%
and Sands China
1928, +3.49%
rose, while AAC
2018, -3.11%
and Geely Automobile
175, -1.71%
fell. LG Electronics
066570, +3.30%
and SK Hynix
000660, +1.00%
advanced in South Korea, and Taiwan Semiconductor
2330, +1.02%
gained in Taiwan. Beach Energy
BPT, +1.50%
and Rio Tinto
RIO, +1.70%
rose in Australia.
On Monday, the S&P 500 index
SPX, +0.70%
rose 22.78 points, or 0.7%, to 3,288.13. The Nasdaq composite
COMP, +1.04%
climbed 95.07 points, or 1%, to 9,273.93, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA, +0.29%
gained 83.28 points, or 0.3%, to 28,907.05.
Benchmark crude oil
CLG20, -0.09%
rose 13 cents to $58.21 a barrel, after falling 96 cents to $58.08 a barrel on Monday. Brent crude oil
BRNH20, +0.00%
, the international standard, rose 19 cents to $64.39 a barrel.
The dollar
USDJPY, +0.09%
rose to 110.09 Japanese yen from 109.89 yen on Monday.
