Asian stocks rose Friday as US President trump encouraged investors by saying the US China trade talks were "moving forward.". US crude oil prices are close to a two-and-a-half-month high after the organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies agreed to increase production cuts.
MSCI Mingsheng Asia Pacific (excluding Japan) rose 0.5%. Japan's Nikkei. N225 rose 0.3%.
Australia rose 0.2%, South Korea. Ks11 climbed 0.8%, China's Shanghai Composite Index. SSEC and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index. HSI rose 0.1% and 0.9%, respectively.
Trump's upbeat tone on Thursday was enough to spur buying, although there is no consensus between China and the United States on whether to include the removal of tariffs already imposed in a preliminary agreement.
"Before the US releases employment data and the Federal Reserve policy meeting, many market participants took a wait-and-see attitude, given the lack of new clues on trade. But it's clear that sentiment is quite positive, "said Yasuo Sakuma, director of investment at Libra investments.
Investors hope that China and the United States will reach a compromise to avoid at least their most worrying scenario, namely, that the United States will push forward tariffs on about $156 billion of Chinese goods.
Uncertainty in the US China trade agreement has left some investors on the sidelines in recent days, while tensions ahead of the US non farm payrolls report later today may also curb market liquidity.
Investors are also waiting for the Fed's 10-11 December policy meeting. According to Reuters, the Fed is expected to keep its interest rate target unchanged at 1.50-1.75%.
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