Asia Markets: Asian stock markets tick higher as China confirms Xi headed to G-20

Asian stock markets put up mild gains early Monday, with cautious bullish optimism emerging for a thaw in U.S.-China trade talks.

The Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency said Sunday that China’s President Xi Jinping will attend the G-20 summit in Japan this week, giving the first official confirmation of his attendance at the meeting, where he has been expected to talk on the sidelines U.S. President Donald Trump.

Vice President Mike Pence on Friday called off a planned China speech, presumably to clear the way for a high level head-to-head.

Against that backdrop, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index HSI, +0.23% advanced 0.4%, while China’s Shanghai Composite SHCOMP, -0.09%  firmed 0.3% and the smaller-cap Shenzhen Composite 399106, -0.29%  rose less than 0.1%.

Japan’s Nikkei NIK, +0.18%   was up 0.1% and South Korea’s Kospi 180721, +0.08%  rose 0.3%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 XJO, -0.13%   slipped 0.2%.

The dollar USDJPY, +0.11%  rose to 107.39 Japanese yen from 107.32 yen late in the U.S. Friday. Dollar-yen had slipped to as low as 107.045 on Friday, the lowest level since a flash crash on Jan. 3.

China’s offshore yuan USDCNH, +0.1617%   rose 0.2%.

Optimism for Asian markets tracked weekly gains for U.S. stocks, even though the major averages finished lower Friday amid heightened tensions between Iran and the U.S. The Dow is on track for its best June in eight decades as investors cheered the Federal Reserve’s shift to a more dovish stance, a move that has helped lift most risk-on markets.

On Friday, the S&P 500 index SPX, -0.13% fell 3.72 points, or 0.1%, to 2,950.46, a day after the large-cap index finished at a record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.13% lost 34.04 points, or 0.1%, to 26,719.13. The blue-chip index had at one point in the session moved above its closing high set on Oct. 3. The Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, -0.24% shed 19.63 points, or 0.2%, to 8,031.71.

Still, all three main benchmarks were up for a third week in a row with the S&P 500 gaining 2.2%, the Dow climbing 2.4%, and the Nasdaq adding 3%, according to FactSet. And if the market can defend its month-to-date gains this week, the Dow is poised for its strongest June performance since 1938 while the S&P 500 could have its best June since 1955. For the Nasdaq, it could be its biggest June jump since 2000.

Global stock markets also continue to track oil prices CLQ19, +0.73%  , which on Monday held firm near three-week highs hit last week.

Read More