AFP / –Asian markets are on the rise but there are still concerns that the China-US trade row could intensify, with Donald Trump threatening further tariffsAsian markets rallied on Monday, extending their gains at the end of last week, following another strong US jobs report that reinforced confidence in the US economy and helped settle trade war nerves.
While Friday’s tit-for-tat tariffs on billions of dollars of goods by the world’s top two economies were seen as damaging, analysts said the impact would be limited.
Global markets had been tumbling ahead of the imposition of the tariffs but bounced on Friday.
The upbeat sentiment carried over into the new week after data showed the US economy created more than 200,000 jobs in June, beating expectations.
That was compounded by the fact that average hourly earnings growth remained sluggish, while the unemployment rate edged up, easing pressure on the Federal Reserve to lift interest rates.
The result helped all three main indexes on Wall Street to end on a high.
And in Asia on Monday Tokyo went into the break 1.3 percent higher, while Hong Kong and Shanghai were each 1.4 percent up in the morning.
Sydney rose 0.2 percent, Singapore climbed 0.9 percent, Seoul added 0.5 percent and Taipei was more than one percent higher.
However, concerns remain that the trade row between China and the US could intensify, with Donald Trump threatening hundreds of billions of dollars more in Chinese goods.
Stephen Innes, head of Asia-Pacific trading at OANDA, said that “should the (Trump) administration follow through with the threat of a $200 billion-plus duties on Chinese goods, this would have some negative implication for both the US and global growth prospects.”
– Sterling rises –
Eyes are now on the release of Chinese trade data later this week.
On currency markets the Chinese yuan edged up against the dollar, having tumbled in recent weeks on the trade spat.
While there had been speculation among some observers that Beijing would allow the unit to weaken in order to offset the impact of a trade war, authorities stressed they would not weaponise it.
The pound managed to eke out some gains despite Westminster upheaval after Prime Minister Theresa May’s point man on Brexit negotiations resigned over the government’s plan to retain strong economic ties with the EU even after leaving.
“The general direction of policy will leave us in at best a weak negotiating position, and possibly an inescapable one,” David Davis said in a letter to May.
His resignation — along with one of his deputies — comes two days after the cabinet approved the plan in a bid to unblock negotiations with Brussels.
Investors are now preparing for the start of the corporate earnings season, which analysts said should provide some distraction from the trade row.
– Key figures around 0300 GMT –
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.3 percent at 22,063.74 (break)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng: UP 1.4 percent at 28,720.17
Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.4 percent at 2786.14
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1752 from $1.1744 at 2030 GMT Friday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3300 from $1.3281
Dollar/yen: UP at 110.46 yen from 110.43 yen
Oil – West Texas Intermediate: UP eight cents at $73.88 per barrel
Oil – Brent Crude: UP 14 cents at $77.25 per barrel
New York – Dow: UP 0.4 percent at 24,456.48 (close)
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 7,617.70 (close)