Asia cheered as Trump delays tariff deadline

FILE PHOTO : A man looks at an electronic stock quotation board showing Japan's Nikkei average outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, November 13, 2018. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo - Copyright Toru Hanai(Reuters)

By Reuters

Published on 25/02/2019 - 01:04•Updated 25/04/2024 - 19:25

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By Wayne Cole

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Asian share markets looked well set on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would delay a planned increase on Chinese imports as talks between the two sides were making "substantial progress".

The Australian dollar, a liquid proxy for China investments, got a mild lift from the news and further gains were expected for the yuan.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.14 percent to the highest since October, and is up 10 percent for the year so far.

Futures pointed to a firmer opening for Japan's Nikkei, while E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 edged up 0.3 percent.

Shanghai blue chips are already up almost 17 percent so far this year, helped in part by Beijing's efforts to pump new credit into the financial system.

Trump on Sunday tweeted he would push back the March 1 deadline for higher tariffs and looked forward to a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping when a deal was sealed.

U.S. and Chinese negotiators were discussing the thorny issue of how to enforce a potential trade deal on Sunday after moving ahead on structural issues, a source said.

Trump tweeted progress had been made on intellectual property, technology transfers, agriculture, services and currencies.

Hopes for an end to the trade standoff had helped the S&P 500 post its highest close since Nov. 8 on Friday, while the Dow and Nasdaq boasted a ninth straight week of gains. [.N]

Stocks have also been underpinned by a dovish shift from the U.S. Federal Reserve which has set aside rate hikes for now. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will testify on U.S. monetary policy on Tuesday and Wednesday.

"Expect him to emphasize patience, stating that any more hikes this year would likely require some pickup in inflation," wrote analysts at TD Securities in a note.

"On the balance sheet, he will not front-run the FOMC and announce anything new, but repeat that the Committee expects the runoff could end later this year."

In currencies, the trade news deflated the safe-haven yen a little and lifted the dollar to 110.76. The euro was flat at $1.1336 and still well within the $1.1213/1.1570 trading range that has held since mid-October.

Against a basket of currencies the dollar was a fraction firmer at 96.514.

Sterling was idling at $1.3061 as markets awaited some clarity on where Brexit talks were heading.

Prime Minister Theresa May put off a vote on her Brexit deal until as late as March 12 - just 17 days before Britain is due to leave the EU - setting up a showdown this week with lawmakers who accuse her of running out the clock.

The Telegraph reported May was considering whether to delay Britain's exit for up to two months.