Business and Economy
Asian shares mixed ahead of Trump Xi meeting
Shares wavered Tuesday in Asia as regional markets appeared to shrug off the latest North Korean missile test. But trading was light ahead of U.S. data releases and meetings later in the week between President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. (Photo by Allan Ajifo [CC BY 2.0)
KEEPING SCORE: Japan’s Nikkei 225 index gained 0.1 per cent to 18,826.05 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.3 per cent to 24,197.17. The Kospi of South Korea slipped 0.2 per cent to 2,156.01. Australia’s S&P ASX 200 rose up 0.2 per cent to 5,867.70 and the Shanghai Composite index advanced 1.1 per cent to 3,256.67. Markets in Southeast Asia were mostly higher.
TRUMP CHINA: Trade agreements and regional tensions will be in focus as Trump and Xi meet Thursday and Friday at Mar-a-Lago in Florida. While some analysts expect the two sides to keep friction to a minimum by following an agreed-upon script, others worry Trump’s past harsh criticism of China and mounting dissatisfaction with Beijing in American business circles auger ill for the summit.
QUOTABLE: “To some extent, the market’s imagination appear to be running wild with the possibilities of the outcome from this meeting, especially given the impulsiveness we have seen from President Donald Trump thus far on issues regarding China. This will likely cause many to stay on the side-lines ahead of the meeting,” Jingyi Pan of IG said in a commentary.
U.S. DATA: The Commerce Department said U.S. factory orders kept growing in February thanks to greater demand for commercial aircraft. Boeing said it will sell $3 billion in aircraft to an Iranian airline, and its stock gained $2.05, or 1.2 per cent, to $178.70.
WALL STREET: The Standard & Poor’s 500 index edged nearly 0.1 per cent higher to 2,360.16. The Dow Jones industrial average added 0.2 per cent to 20,689.24 and the Nasdaq composite eked out a 0.1 per cent gain, to 5,898.61. Despite the gains, slightly more stocks fell than rose on the New York Stock Exchange, and the Russell 2000 index, which contains smaller-company stocks, lost 0.1 per cent to 1,368.18.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude rose 32 cents to $51.19 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It gained 79 cents, or 1.6 per cent, to $51.35 per barrel. Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 29 cents to $54.46. On Monday, it gained $1.05, or 2 per cent, to $54.17 a barrel in London.
CURRENCIES: The dollar slipped to 110.61 yen from 110.96 yen. The euro edged up to $1.0674 from $1.0665.
