Asian shares held near an eight-month peak on Thursday as investors awaited developments on Sino-U.S. trade talks, with both sides appearing closer to signing a deal and improved risk appetite weighing on safe-haven assets like the yen.
Asian shares
- Chinese shares started firm with the blue-chip index up 0.9 percent.
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was a tad softer.
- MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan took a breather after five straight days of gains took it to its highest since late August.
- Japan’s Nikkei nudged 0.2 percent higher to stay near a recent one-month top.
- The Dow rose 0.15 percent.
- S&P 500 gained 0.21 percent and the Nasdaq 0.6 percent.
Currency
- The greenback was subdued on Thursday, easing against a basket of currencies to 97.051.
- The euro edged up to $1.1244.
- Sterling gained to $1.3177 as Prime Minister Theresa May is meeting opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn in a bid to break the Brexit deadlock, which has sparked fury among hardline Brexiteers.
Commodities
- In commodity markets, spot gold nudged up to $1,292.21 per ounce.
- U.S. crude eased 6 cents to $62.4.
- Brent crude rose 1 cent to $69.32.