Investing.com – Asian equities advanced in morning as U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the Commerce Department to get ZTE Corp back into business.
On Wall Street, U.S. stocks closed slightly higher Friday and recorded their best week in two months amid growing optimism that inflation would remain contained.
The S&P 500 edged up 0.2%, the Dow added 0.4%, while the Nasdaq was barely changed.
The Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Component gained 0.4 and 0.6% respectively by 9:35PM ET (01:35 GMT). Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE Corp (HK:0763) took center stage in Asia on Monday, as Trump said in a tweet on Sunday that he is working with Chinese President Xi to give ZTE “a way to get back into business, fast.”
“Too many jobs in China lost. Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done,” Said Trump.
The tweet came weeks after the decision to cut off the Chinese firm from its U.S. suppliers and accused the company of violating export restrictions by illegally shipping U.S. goods to Iran. ZTE suspended its main operations earlier in the month, while trading in the company’s shares has been halted since the ban.
"This suggests that Trump might see the chance for real progress on trade talks, and is softening the U.S. position on an issue important to China," JPMorgan said in a note.
"Trump also needs China to remain on side ahead of his meeting with North Korea's Kim and this also suggests that until the 12 June meeting the signaling from the U.S. on trade will be more positive."
Separately, U.S. officials are set to have talks in Washington with China's top trade official Liu He to resolve an intensifying trade dispute between the two nations, according to reports.
South Korea’s KOSPI slipped 0.1%. The U.S. is ready to allow investments in North Korea once it has more confirmable evidence of its denuclearization, according to reports who cited two U.S. top national security officials.
The remarks came ahead of a summit between Trump and Kim in Singapore on June 12.
Elsewhere, Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.2%, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 also added 0.3%.
Looking ahead, investors’ attention would likely turn to the retail sales and industrial production data due from the U.S. and China later this week.