Sun, Nov 24, 2019 page14

• Stocks mixed as Asian investors mull trade talks

  • Bloomberg and CNA, with staff writer
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  Asia stocks were mixed on Friday amid muted volumes, as investors awaited further details on US-China trade discussions.

  Japanese shares steadied after three days of declines, although volumes were below average. Stocks climbed in South Korea and Hong Kong, and slipped in China.

  It has been a mixed picture on the trade front this week. Chinese Vice Premier Liu He (劉鶴) has invited US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to Beijing for talks later this month, people familiar with the matter have said, and Washington is likely to postpone new tariffs scheduled for next month even if there is no deal by then, the South China Morning Post reported.

  However, US President Donald Trump might soon sign into law a bill supporting Hong Kong’s protesters, a decision Beijing has criticized.

  Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) said that his nation wants to work toward a phase-one trade agreement with the US on the “basis of mutual respect and equality,“ his first comments on a partial deal that he could potentially sign with Trump.

  “The market is looking for some bullish signal that things aren’t going to get worse and that we’re not going to see further deterioration in trade talks between the US and China,” Erin Browne, a portfolio manager at Pacific Investment Management Co, told Bloomberg TV. “They just don’t want to see further escalation.”

  Japan’s TOPIX rose 0.12 percent to 1,691.34, but fell 0.31 percent for the week. The Shanghai Composite slid 0.63 percent to 2,885.29, dropping 0.21 percent for the week, and South Korea’s KOSPI rose 0.26 percent to 2,101.96, but lost 2.79 percent over the week.

  Meanwhile, Hong Kong stocks rebounded on Friday as the Asian financial hub took a breather from political unrest ahead of key local elections today.

  At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index was up 0.48 percent at 26,595.08, posting a weekly gain of 1.02 percent.

  Shares in Taiwan closed little changed on Friday after late-session buying helped the market rebound from a decline earlier in the day, dealers said.

  However, turnover was relatively low as investors were concerned about ongoing trade friction between the US and China and the possibility that they would not sign the phase one agreement by the end of the year, dealers said.

  The weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, the TAIEX, closed up 8.53 points, or 0.07 percent, at 11,566.80, after moving between 11,534.15 and 11,577.02, on turnover of NT$107.248 billion (US$3.51 billion). It gained 0.36 percent from last week’s 11,525.60 points.

  The market opened down 1.52 points and soon returned to positive territory on a technical rebound from a session earlier, when the TAIEX closed down 0.63 percent, dealers said.

  However, with the TAIEX moving closer to the nearest technical resistance ahead of 11,600 points at about 9:30am, selling set in again as investors reacted to the 0.2 percent decline in the Dow Jones Industrial Average overnight, they said.

  In the final minutes of the session, buying emerged in big-cap stocks such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) and defensive telecom stocks, including Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信), to help the TAIEX finish above its previous closing level.

  “International media reports said the US and China are expected to delay the signing of a phase-one trade agreement to 2020 instead of later this year, which raised anxiety over global trade,” Hua Nan Securities Co (華南永昌證券) analyst Kevin Su (蘇俊宏) said.

  “Amid renewed uncertainty over global trade, it was no surprise that Taiwan’s stock market was in consolidation mode throughout the session today [Friday] and turnover was limited,” Su said.

  “The silver lining was that some bargain hunters were willing to buy and support the TAIEX by the end of the session,” Su added.
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