Stocks in the Asia-Pacific region finished in the green on Monday, amid optimism following last week’s high-level trade talks between Washington and Beijing. On Friday, US President Trump announced a “very substantial phase one deal” that will address intellectual-property protections and the Chinese purchase of US agricultural products. Also, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin said tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese imports that were set to rise from 25% to 30% on October 15th will not go into effect.
Gains came despite latest Chinese data which showed September’s export and imports falling more than expected. The Shanghai Composite index jumped 34 points, or 1.2%, to 3008; the Hang Seng increased 226 points, or 0.9%, to 26535; the Kospi went up 23 points, or 1.1%, to 2067; and the S&P/ASX 200 advanced 36 points, or 0.5%, to 6643. Markets in Japan were close due to a public holiday.
