A man walks past an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm in Tokyo Tuesday, May 15, 2018. Asian shares were mostly lower in muted trading Tuesday amid continuing uncertainty over trade tensions between China and the U.S. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Republished May 14, 2018 - 8:45 PM
Original Publication Date May 14, 2018 - 9:31 AM
TOKYO - Asian shares were mostly lower in muted trading Tuesday amid continuing uncertainty over trade tensions between China and the U.S.
KEEPING SCORE: Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 is basically flat at 22,862.79 after morning trading. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.3 per cent to 6,116.00. South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.6 per cent at 2,460.62. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.9 per cent to 31,250.22, while the Shanghai Composite edged down 0.2 per cent to 3,167.09.
CHINA FACTOR: President Donald Trump tweeted Sunday that he was working with President Xi Jinping of China to put Chinese telecom ZTE "back into business, fast" after U.S. sanctions threatened ZTE's existence and 70,000 Chinese jobs. Vice Premier Liu He is scheduled for talks in Washington aimed at heading off the ongoing dispute. Washington has proposed imposing tariffs on up to $150 billion in Chinese products. In retaliation, Beijing is threatening tariffs on $50 billion in U.S. products.
WALL STREET: The S&P 500 index added 2.41 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 2,730.13 on Monday. The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 68.24 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 24,899.41. The Nasdaq composite rose 8.43 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 7,411.32. Small-company stocks fell. The Russell 2000 index lost its early gains, sliding 6.45 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 1,600.34.
THE QUOTE: "Looking at Asian markets, despite the positive leads, key markets are virtually expected to commence flat, likely with caution setting in," said Jingyi Pan, market strategist at IG in Singapore.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude oil inched up 1 cent to $70.97 a barrel. It rose 26 cents to $70.96 a barrel in New York Monday. Brent crude, used to price international oil, gained 2 cents to $78.25 a barrel in London.
CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 109.71 yen from 109.53 yen late Monday. The euro weakened to $1.1935 from $1.1974.
News from © The Associated Press, 2018