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Asian markets were mixed early Wednesday after a report that the U.S. and China will to meet to discuss compliance with their phase-one trade deal.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 NIK, -0.13% slipped 0.6% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index HSI, +0.59% edged up 0.7%. The Shanghai Composite SHCOMP, +0.28% rose 0.2% while the Shenzhen Composite 399106, +0.95% gained 0.9%. South Korea’s Kospi 180721, +1.01% rose 1% while benchmark indexes in Taiwan Y9999, +0.64% , Singapore STI, +0.77% and Indonesia JAKIDX, +0.22% were mixed. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 XJO, -0.47% fell 0.5%.
The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that high-level talks between U.S. and Chinese officials will be held Aug. 15 to discuss China’s compliance with the trade deal signed in January. China has fallen short of the pace needed to fulfil a pledge to buy more U.S. farm products. China is also said to be likely to bring up concerns over the recent U.S. crackdown against Chinese tech companies.
News of the trade-deal talks was met with wariness. “A deterioration in U.S.-China political relations this year suggests constructive talks would be a surprise,” Stephen Innes, chief global markets strategist at AxiTrader, wrote in a note. “The meeting will test the thesis that a political discord does not drive an economic fracturing.”
Relations between the U.S. and China will likely be further strained, after the Trump administration said Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar will soon visit Taiwan — the highest-level visit by an American official in 41 years. China claims Taiwan as its territory.
Stocks rose Tuesday on Wall Street, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.61% rising 164.07 points, or 0.6%, to 26,828.47, while the S&P 500 index SPX, +0.36% rose 11.90 points, or 0.4%, to 3,306.51 and the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, +0.35% gained 38.37 points, or 0.4%, to close at 10,941.17, notching its 30th record close of 2020.
In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude CLU20, -0.16% lost 8 cents to $41.62 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 69 cents on Tuesday to settle at $41.70 per barrel. Brent crude BRNV20, -0.04% , the basis for pricing international oils, shed 4 cents to $44.39 per barrel in London. It gained 28 cents the previous session to $44.43.
The dollar USDJPY, -0.13% declined to 105.57 Japanese yen from Tuesday’s 105.72 yen. The euro gained to $1.1819 from $1.1805.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
