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GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian stocks cheer Trump's delay of some China tariffs

Published 14/08/2019, 04:14 pm
© Reuters.  GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian stocks cheer Trump's delay of some China tariffs
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* MSCI Asia-Pacific index up 0.8%, Nikkei rises 1%

* European stock futures gain in early trade

* Trump delays tariffs on some China imports, boosts sentiment

* Crude oil prices dip after previous day's big surge

* Asian stock markets: https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4

By Shinichi Saoshiro

TOKYO, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Asian stocks joined a global equities surge on Wednesday, after Washington delayed tariffs on some Chinese imports and gave much-needed relief for markets gripped by political and economic turmoil.

In early European trade, futures for the pan-region Euro Stoxx 50 STXEc1 were up 0.15%, German DAX FDXc1 0.17% and Britain's FTSE FFIc1 0.25%.

The tariff news largely offset a raft of disappointing China data for July, although the safe-haven yen JPY= enjoyed a lift amid the deepening gloom in the world's second-biggest economy.

Wall Street stocks soared overnight as U.S. President Donald Trump backed off his Sept. 1 deadline for 10% tariffs on the remaining Chinese imports, delaying duties on cellphones, laptops and other consumer goods in the hopes of blunting their impact on U.S. holiday sales. surge in U.S. stocks lifted MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS by 0.8%.

The Shanghai Composite Index .SSEC advanced 0.6% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng .HSI , which has been hurt by disruptions from large anti-government protests, rose 0.5%.

South Korea's KOSPI .KS11 advanced 0.7% and Japan's Nikkei .N225 rose 1%.

Yet Wednesday's bounce hardly clawed back the sizable losses for equities over recent months, and broad market sentiment remained fragile given that the U.S.-China trade conflict is still far from resolved.

Uncertainty around political risks such as the unrest in Hong Kong also continue to keep investors on edge.

Kenta Inoue, senior market economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Securities, pointed out that Trump's tariff delay came just as U.S. stocks were stalling.

"This appears to be a routine ploy by the U.S. president, who applies trade pressure on China when stocks are doing well and opts for compromise when they are not," Inoue said.

The S&P 500 .SPX advanced to a record high at the end of July, but it has lost momentum due to factors including U.S.-China trade angst. The index rose 1.5% on Tuesday, but is still down 1.8% in August.

The year-long tariff dispute between the world's biggest economies has already disrupted global supply chains and slowed economic growth.

Growth of China's industrial output slowed much more than expected to 4.8% in July from a year earlier, official data showed on Wednesday, in the latest sign of faltering demand as the United States ramps up trade pressure. July's pace was the slowest since February 2002. Trump did delay the tariffs and while this is positive for equities, the markets will remain wary of the tariffs still being implemented come December," said Masahiro Ichikawa, senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management.

"And while the tensions in Hong Kong are not a main calibre theme for all markets, their negative impact has been multiplied as they have taken place simultaneously with developments in Argentina."

Fears of a possible return to interventionist policies, and by extension a possible debt default, jolted global markets this week after conservative Argentina President Mauricio Macri was handed a trouncing by the opposition in presidential primaries over the weekend.

In currencies, the safe-haven yen advanced 0.25% to 106.485 per dollar as the weaker-than-expected Chinese economic data reinforced the view that resolving the trade war was a long way off even with Trump delaying some additional tariffs. FRX/

In volatile trading, the yen retreated to 106.980 per dollar overnight before finding its footing. On Monday, the Japanese currency had brushed a seven-month peak near 105.000.

The dollar index .DXY versus a basket of six major currencies was flat at 97.822 after advancing nearly 0.5% the previous day.

The euro was steady at $1.1169 EUR= after slipping 0.4% against the dollar on Tuesday.

The greenback's advance stalled as the sharp rise in U.S. yields seen overnight ran out of momentum.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury note US10YT=RR edged down 2.5 basis points to 1.676% after climbing 6 basis points overnight. The yield had plumbed a three-year low of 1.595% a week ago.

Crude prices soared as Washington's decision to delay imposing some tariffs eased worries about a global economic slowdown, although Tuesday's soft Chinese data cut short the rally.

Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were down 0.88% at $60.76 per barrel, losing steam after jumping nearly 5% the previous day.

<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Global stocks and Brent crude

https://tmsnrt.rs/2YIW4Lk

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Richard Borsuk)

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