Asian stocks rise after US and China conclude deal

Asian markets rose Wednesday as Beijing and Washington announced they had laid out a follow-up plan to the trade cease-fire agreed upon last month in Geneva.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 climbed 0.5 percent by midmorning to 38,385.37, buoyed by data from the Bank of Japan showing wholesale inflation eased in May. That slowdown may reduce pressure on the central bank to lift interest rates at its next policy meeting.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng added 0.8 percent, reaching 24,364.77, while Shanghai’s main index rose 0.5 percent to 3,402.72. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 inched up 0.3 percent to 8,612.40, and South Korea’s Kospi was 0.6 percent higher at 2,889.88.

Overnight in New York, US stocks extended their rally. The S&P 500 gained 0.5 percent to close at 6,038.81, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2 percent to 42,866.87, and the Nasdaq composite added 0.6 percent, finishing at 19,714.99. This strength follows a drop of nearly 20 percent from record highs two months ago, triggered by President Donald Trump’s announcement of hefty tariffs that stoked fears of a recession.

Much of the recent rebound has been driven by hopes that the White House will roll back duties after striking trade deals abroad. The S&P 500 now sits just 1.7 percent below its February peak.

Still, some analysts say the latest talks produced more reaffirmation than fresh progress. After two days of meetings in London, officials in the late hours agreed on what had largely been outlined earlier.

“So what did 48 hours of talks actually produce? Apparently, a reaffirmation to eventually do what they had already said they would do. If markets were expecting substance, they got process instead,” said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.

Lutnick said the talks are going well, spiking optimism

US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, speaking in London Tuesday evening, described discussions with Chinese counterparts as “going really, really well.” Both sides have suspended many of the tariffs they imposed on each other to keep negotiations on track.

A survey released Tuesday showed that small-business optimism in the United States ticked up slightly in May. 

In individual stock moves, Tesla shares jumped 5.7 percent, recouping some ground after last week’s sell-off. The electric-car maker fell sharply when founder Elon Musk’s public spat with President Trump raised concerns about possible government retaliation against the company.

Meanwhile, US–traded shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world’s largest contract chipmaker, rose 2.6 percent after the firm said its May revenue surged nearly 40 percent from a year earlier.

On bond markets, the yield on the 10-year US Treasury eased to 4.48 percent from 4.47 percent late Tuesday. In commodities, benchmark US crude added eight cents to $65.06 a barrel, and Brent crude crept up two cents to $66.89 a barrel.

In currency trading, the dollar strengthened slightly against the yen, trading at 145.08 yen versus 144.84 yen on Tuesday. The euro slipped to $1.1418 from $1.1425.

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