Asian Stocks Rise on Sino-U.S. Trade Hopes

Investing.com – Asian stocks rose in morning trade on Monday as China and the U.S. appeared close to agreeing on a “phase one” trade deal.

The Shanghai Composite and the gained 0.5% and 0.7% respectively by 10:40 PM ET (02:40 GMT).

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) said on the weekend that Beijing and Washington are close to signing a partial trade deal.

“They made headway on specific issues and the two sides are close to finalizing some sections of the agreement,” USTR said. “Discussions will go on continuously at the deputy level, and the principals will have another call in the near future.”

Asked about China on Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump said, “We’re doing very well.”

“We’re moving along nicely. We’re dealing with them right now,” he told reporters before leaving Washington for South Carolina. “And a lot of good things are happening with China. They want to make a deal very badly.”

On the data front, China’s National Bureau of Statistics reported on Sunday that the country’s industrial sector fell 5.3% last month.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 traded 0.2% higher, while South Korea’s KOSPI gained 0.4%.

Down under, Australia’s ASX 200 inched up 0.2%.

Major miners outperformed today, as Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:) gained nearly 1% while Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:) and BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX:) jumped 2% and 1.2% respectively.

Markets in Singapore, India, Malaysia and New Zealand are closed for holidays.

Disclaimer: Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. All CFDs (stocks, indexes, futures) and Forex prices are not provided by exchanges but rather by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual market price, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Therefore Fusion Media doesn`t bear any responsibility for any trading losses you might incur as a result of using this data.

Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.