Asian stocks hit seven-month highs; oil is approaching 70 dollars



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By Andrew Galbraith

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Asian equities on Wednesday hit a seven-month high, as investors saw signs of progress in US-China trade talks and favorable economic data, while oil said it would be able to sell its shares. was approaching $ 70 per barrel.

The largest MSCI index of Asia-Pacific equities outside Japan rose 0.5% at around 03:10 GMT, after having reached its highest level since the end of August.

The index has risen nearly 3% since Thursday, following reports of progress in trade negotiations between the United States and China, as well as rebaduring data on the activity of factories from the United States. China and the United States.

The series of gains for the global stock markets also propelled MSCI's key global equity indicator to its highest level in six months. The overall index was up 0.2% on Wednesday morning.

Hopes of an agreement to end the trade war between the world's two largest economies have been fueled by recent comments from White House economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, that Washington is expecting to Washington's "doing more" in this week's negotiations.

Nevertheless, badysts have struggled to point to a clear catalyst for the protracted recovery of equities.

"I think markets sometimes tend to be positive, unless you hit them repeatedly, not just with bad news, but with new bad news," said Rob Carnell, chief economist and chief economist. Research Officer for the Asia-Pacific region. ING in Singapore.

"There has been a lot of bad news that has been built into prices, so maybe the lack of new negatives is enough to allow a slight sense of positivity to infiltrate," he said. he declared.

Australian equities rose 0.5% and Japan's Nikkei stock index rose 0.8%. Chinese blue chips remained unchanged, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.7%.

On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index fell 0.3% to 26,179.13 points, the S & P 500 was stable and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.25% to 7,848.69.

"After such a sharp rise, it's not surprising that the risk rally has taken off somewhat," McKenna Macro's strategist Greg McKenna said in a morning note to customers.

But after a brief consolidation of risk sentiment, yields on US Treasury bonds rose again.

Treasury bonds at 10-year benchmark returned 2.5027%, against 2.479% in the United States on Tuesday, and two-year yields reached 2.3240%, against 2.308% in the United States.

Oil prices have also been near the highest for several months due to concerns about supply. Brent crude rose 0.72% to $ 69.87 a barrel, its highest level since November and its psychologically significant level of $ 70 per barrel.

It was up 0.55% to $ 69.75. US WTI (West Texas Intermediate) crude increased 0.42% to $ 62.84 per barrel.

The news that the United States is considering more sanctions against Iran, the world's fourth largest producer of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and the interruption production at an oil terminal in Venezuela have threatened to cut supply and drive up oil prices Tuesday.

In the currency markets, the pound sterling was up 1.3139 USD, up about 0.1%, after British Prime Minister Theresa May announced that she would ask for another deadline in Brexit to conclude a divorce agreement between the European Union and Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

The dollar strengthened 0.15% against the yen at 111.48 and the euro added 0.17% to buy 1.121 dollar.

The dollar index, which tracks the greenback versus a basket of six major rivals, fell 0.16% to 97,206.

The bitcoin cryptocurrency, which jumped 18.7% on Tuesday following a large order placed by an anonymous buyer, extended its gains of 2.6% to $ 5,027.10.

Gold was flat, gold trading in cash at $ 1,292.67 per ounce.

Chart: Asian Stock Exchanges (https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4)

(Report by Andrew Galbraith, edited by Sam Holmes)

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