FILE PHOTO: A board shows stock information at a brokerage office in Beijing, China January 2, 2020. REUTERS/Jason Lee
January 2, 2020
(Reuters) – Asian shares gained for the fourth successive month in December as appetite for regional shares improved after the U.S. and China agreed on a preliminary deal to end their 17-month long trade war.
The MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares <.MIAP00000PUS> gained 4.2% in December, compared with the month’s gains of about 3.4% for the MSCI’s global share index <.MIWD00000PUS>.
Graphic: Asia-Pacific equities performance in Dec 2019 https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/13/459/459/Asia%20Dec%202019%20price%20change.jpg
The United States and China agreed on a deal on Dec. 13 that reduces some U.S. tariffs in exchange for what U.S. officials said would be a big jump in Chinese purchases of American farm products and other goods. The deal is expected to be signed on Jan 15.
Asia-Pacific shares however, lagged behind global shares in the year and in the last decade.
Graphic: Asia-Pacific equities performance in 2019 https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/13/461/461/Asia-Pacific%20equities%20performance%20in%202019.jpg
Graphic: Asia-Pacific equities performance in last decade https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/13/462/462/Asia-Pacific%20equities%20performance%20in%20last%20decade.jpg
The MSCI’s Asia-Pacific Index gained about 16% in 2019 compared with 24% for the World index.
New Zealand shares <.NZ50> lead both 2019 and last decade’s gains in the region. In U.S. dollar terms, local shares gained 30.8% in 2019 and 231% in the last decade.
(Reporting by Gaurav Dogra and Patturaja Murugaboopathy Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
