Stocks in Asia Pacific traded higher Wednesday morning as the U.S. announced a delay in the implementation of tariffs on some Chinese goods.
Shares in mainland China rose in early trade, with the Shanghai composite gaining 1.09% and the Shenzhen component jumping 1.62%. The Shenzhen composite also advanced 1.551%.
The United States Trade Representative announced Tuesday certain products including clothing and cellphones are being removed from the tariff list based on “health, safety, national security and other factors” and will not face additional tariffs of 10%. Other tariffs will be delayed to Dec. 15 from Sep. 1 for certain goods, it said.
“A cynical view then is that the delay is purely for political timing rather than a more substantive change in the US’ approach to the US-China relationship,” Tapas Strickland, an economist at National Australia Bank, wrote in a note.
“Overall a high degree of (skepticism) should remain and an imminent deal is unlikely given Trump has foreshadowed he is going to be campaigning hard on the issue in the 2020 election,” Strickland said.
Meanwhile, the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong rose 1.2%. Tensions in Hong Kong remained high after the city’s airport saw disruptions for a second day on Tuesday as a result of protests.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.77% in morning trade, while the Topix index also advanced 0.61%.
Over in South Korea, the Kospi gained 1.08%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 also rose 0.12%.
Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index added 1%.
Yuan watch
Asia-Pacific Market Indexes Chart
Apple suppliers mostly jump
Dollar holds on to gains
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 97.779 after surging from levels below 97.5 yesterday.
The Japanese yen, often seen as a safe-haven currency, traded at 106.38 against the dollar after weakening sharply from levels below 105.5 in the previous session. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6796 after jumping from levels below $0.676 yesterday.
Oil prices declined in the morning of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures sliding 0.75% to $60.84 per barrel. U.S. crude futures fell 0.96% to $56.55 per barrel.
Here’s a look at some of the data due today:
- China: Industrial production, fixed asset investment (year to date), retail sales data for July at 10:00 a.m. HK/SIN
- Hong Kong earnings: HKEX, Champion REIT, Lenovo, Tencent
— CNBC’s Yun Li contributed to this report.
