Asian shares edged up on Thursday as stimulus expectations and a rise in the yuan helped Chinese equities erase early losses, while markets awaited more news on U.S.-China trade talks amid hopes that an all-out trade war can be averted.
Stocks
- MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.3 percent.
- China’s blue-chip CSI 300 gained 0.3 percent.
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.1 percent.
- Australian shares added 0.3 percent.
- Japan’s Nikkei closed 1.3 percent lower.
- Wall Street’s S&P 500 rose 0.41 percent on Wednesday.
- E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 were last down half a percent.
Currencies
- Canadian dollar retreated in line with oil prices, and last traded down 0.2 percent at C$1.3232
- The dollar briefly dipped to 95.029, its lowest since Oct. 16, and was last down 0.1 percent.
Commodities
- U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures on Wednesday gained almost 5.2 percent.
- Brent crude futures rose more than 4.6 percent.
- Brent lost 57 cents to $60.87, off 0.93 percent.
- U.S. crude was last trading 59 cents lower at $51.76 a barrel, down 1.15 percent.
- Spot gold was 0.2 percent higher at $1,296.40
Bonds
- U.S. Treasury yields last stood at 2.699 percent, down from 2.710 percent at the U.S. close on Wednesday.