Asian stocks lagging the US rise on the optimism of the trade agreement between the United States and Mexico

TOKYO – Asian stocks were mostly up on Friday because of investor optimism about a possible trade deal between the US and Mexico before the entry into force of tariffs.

Japan's Nikkei 225 rose nearly 0.4% to 20,850.24 in morning trading, while the S & P / ASX 200 in Australia rose 0.5% to 6,416.50. Kospi in South Korea changed little, but grew by less than 0.1 percent to 2,069.75. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 26.665.28 points, up nearly 0.3 percent, while the Shanghai Composite lost 1.2 percent to 26.965.28.

A modest Wall Street rally strengthened in the last hour of trading after Bloomberg announced that the United States was planning to delay a 5% tariff on Mexican goods, which is expected to come into effect on Monday. The report was released on the second day of trade negotiations between the two countries.

The S & P 500 index rose 17.34 points, or 0.6%, to 2,843.49. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 181.09 points, or 0.7%, to 25,720.66. He briefly climbed 260 points.

The Nasdaq composite reversed a first slide by adding 40.08 points, or 0.5%, to 7,615.55. The Russell 2000 Small Business Index lost 1.25 percentage points, or 0.2%, to settle at 1,503.54.

President Donald Trump announced that he would make the decision to increase tariffs in China after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping this month at the G-20 meeting in Japan, which brings together leaders of developed and developing countries.

Trump has ordered tariffs of up to 25 percent on Chinese exports worth several billion dollars and his administration is preparing to extend them to 300 billion dollars more, almost all items shipped from China to the United States. China reciprocally offered customs duties, among other measures.

The trade dispute with Mexico and China threatens to stifle economic growth in the United States and around the world. The uncertainty surrounding trade negotiations has pushed many traders to flee to safer investments, such as bonds and gold.

Investors are also monitoring US job data, due later in the day, for signs of the current economic situation.

"Asian markets seem poised to follow the United States with moderate gains, with trade concerns easing slightly during Thursday's session. Meanwhile, the focus is on Friday's update of the US labor market, "said Jingyi Pan, market strategist at IG Singapore.

ENERGY:

The benchmark US crude gained 58 cents at $ 53.17 a barrel. Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 63 cents to 62.30 dollars a barrel.

CURRENCIES:

The dollar rose to 108.47 Japanese yen against 108.22 yen on Thursday. The euro has strengthened, rising from 1.1231 dollar to 1.1272 dollar.

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