Asian stocks slip on worries over US China tariffs truce

Asian shares were mostly lower Tuesday as investors questioned if a 90-day truce in a tariffs battle will allow the U.S. and China to resolve a range of issues from technology development to trade. (Shutterstock photo)

SINGAPORE — Asian shares were mostly lower Tuesday as investors questioned if a 90-day truce in a tariffs battle will allow the U.S. and China to resolve a range of issues from technology development to trade.

KEEPING SCORE: Japan’s Nikkei 225 index shed 1.0 per cent to 22,356.80 and the Kospi in South Korea lost 0.5 per cent to 2,120.65. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 0.2 per cent to 27,139.87 while the Shanghai Composite index was flat at 2,655.96. Both Chinese indexes finished more than 2 per cent higher on Monday. The S&P ASX/200 in Australia gave up 0.9 per cent to 5,721.00. Shares fell in Taiwan and Singapore but rose in Indonesia and the Philippines.

WALL STREET: A cease-fire in a trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies lifted major U.S. indexes on Monday. The S&P 500 index jumped 1.1 per cent to 2,790.37, after gaining close to 5 per cent last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 1.1 per cent higher at 25,826.43. The Nasdaq composite added 1.5 per cent to 7,441.51. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks picked up 1 per cent to 1,548.96.

U.S-CHINA TRUCE: On Saturday, a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping ended with a verbal agreement to hold off on further tariffs for at least 90 days. Trump was set to raise tariffs from 10 to 25 per cent on $200 billion in Chinese goods, starting Jan. 1. In return, the White House said Xi will buy a “very substantial amount” of U.S. agricultural, energy and industrial products. On Monday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told reporters that the leaders had detailed conversations on 142 items and will need to turn those pointers into a “real agreement” in the coming months.

ANALYST’S TAKE: “Markets are reflecting a fragile truce between the U.S. and China after an initial sigh of relief. Investors are taking some money off the table as they figure out the details of what the leaders have agreed to and how long the truce can last,” said Song Seng Wun, an economist at CIMB Private Banking.

ENERGY: Oil prices are rallying ahead of an OPEC meeting on Thursday, where members are expected to cut output in 2019. News that the Canadian province of Alberta will cut production by 325,000 barrels a day also boosted sentiment. Benchmark U.S. crude gained 56 cents to $53.51 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It added $2.02 to settle at $52.95 a barrel on Monday. Brent crude rose 60 cents to $62.29 per barrel. It ticked up $2.23 to $61.69 a barrel in London.

CURRENCIES: The dollar weakened to 113.30 yen from 113.63 yen late Monday. The euro rose to $1.1372 from $1.1353.