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By Andrew Galbraith
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Asian shares hit their highest in nearly eight months on Monday after the United States and China agreed on a preliminary trade deal, with Australian shares leading the way on expectations of more easing of monetary policy there.
European shares were set to build on the previous week’s gains. In early European trades on Monday, pan-region were up 0.62%, German were 0.5% higher and futures rose 0.6%.
U.S. stock futures also pointed to stronger gains to start the week, with the S&P 500 e-minis up 0.27%.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said on Sunday a deal was “totally done”, notwithstanding some needed revisions, and would nearly double U.S. exports to China over the next two years.
Positive sentiment helped push the MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan to its highest level since April 18. It was last up 0.25%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 led the way as it jumped 1.63%, while shares in Taiwan added 0.22%.
Ryan Felsman, senior economist at CommSec in Sydney, said the trade deal and the receding risk of a disorderly Brexit after the UK general election produced a strong Conservative majority provided support for sentiment in Australia.
A lower-than-expected Australian budget surplus due to a sluggish economy has also “built expectations by markets for further easing from the Reserve Bank (of Australia),” he said.
Chinese investors initially had a more tepid reaction to the trade news, with the blue-chip CSI300 index struggling to rise further after trade hopes fanned a near 2% rise on Friday.
But after a lackluster morning session, the CSI300 index turned higher in the afternoon and was last up 0.3%, helped by data showing the country’s industrial output growth and retail sales jumped more than expected in November.
Japan’s succumbed to some profit-taking, falling 0.29% after surging 2.55% to a 14-month closing high on Friday.
The “phase one” agreement suspended a threatened round of U.S. tariffs on a $160 billion list of Chinese imports that was scheduled to take effect on Sunday. The United States also agreed to halve the tariff rate, to 7.5%, on $120 billion worth of Chinese goods.
Felsman at CommSec said investors wanted more details and the reduction in U.S. tariffs may have disappointed some looking for more aggressive action.
“Certainly there were expectations perhaps that the rollback would be more significant than just 50%,” he said.
The 17-month-old trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies has roiled financial markets and taken a toll on world economic growth.
“The announcement is a step in the right direction for the two nations, but does not completely reduce the chances of trade disputes between the two nations in the year,” ANZ analysts said in a note.
U.S. shares had struck a cautious note on Friday, paring initial gains to end barely higher as weary investors awaited signs of a concrete deal.
However, the news of a deal was still enough to send the S&P 500 to a record closing high of 3,168.8, up 0.01%. The added 0.2% to end at 8,734.88, also a record, and the rose 0.01% to 28,135.38.
U.S. Treasury yields moved higher on Monday, reflecting a more positive mood. Benchmark rose to 1.8365% compared with their U.S. close of 1.821% on Friday, and the two-year yield touched 1.6223% compared with a U.S. close of 1.604%.
The dollar was slightly higher against the yen at 109.39 and the euro was up 0.14% at $1.1135. Sterling, which jumped last week after the UK election, gained 0.48% to $1.3389.
The , which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was down 0.12% at 97.053.
Oil prices, which had risen on Friday following the deal, cooled in early Asian trade on Monday. shed 0.31% to $65.02 per barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 0.37% at $59.85 per barrel.
prices were flat at $1,475.68 per ounce.
