Asia stocks gaining amidst US-China trade

Asia markets were having a boost during trade today (Friday) afternoon, as the recent developments on U.S.-China trade negotiations caught the attention of the investors.

The Nikkei 225 in Japan surged 0.77% while the Topix index rose 0.67%. While South Korea’s Kospi ascended 0.83%, shares of chipmaker SK Hynix added 1.92%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index and shares of life insurer AIA rose 0.27% and more than 1% respectively.

On the other hand, the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia soared 0.87% to close at 6,793.70 as the heavily weighted financial subindex added 0.51%, according to CNBC.

However, the Mainland Chinese stocks were relatively lower in the afternoon. The Shanghai composite index tumbled 0.11% and the Shenzhen component went down 0.29%. The Shenzhen composite also plunged 0.335%. The MSCI Asia ex-Japan index rose 0.62%.

“At the moment, I think, the Chinese might be quite reluctant to make very significant concessions given that the atmosphere in Washington seems very unpredictable. I think the prospects for even a phase one deal have somewhat weakened in the last few days,” Eswar Prasad, a professor of trade policy at Cornell University, told CNBC on Friday.

(Reference: CNBC)