- Asian markets continued to trade mixed on Wednesday
- The Chinese and Australian markets made slight gains
- Japan’s Nikkei 25 and South Korea’s Kospi fell
Asian markets on Wednesday continued to be weighed down by tensions surrounding the US-China trade talks, as a minimal movement was observed in the majority of stock markets, reports CNBC, March 6, 2019.
It seems that the world markets are the ones suffering the most due to the tug-of-war between Washington and Beijing.
Following the cues in the American markets, Asian markets on Wednesday are trading mixed. Stocks in Australia surged despite data indicators showing that the island nation’s economy slowed to a huge extent in the second half of 2018.
Australia, Japan, and South Korean Markets Tumble
The Australia Stock Exchange (ASX) surged by 0.65 percent. However, due to the news of economic slowdown, the Australian Dollar declined to a two-month low of $0.7050.
Stock action was similar in Japan and South Korea. Japan’s Nikkei 225 receded 0.63 percent, while the Tokyo Stock Price Index fell 0.24 percent. One of the biggest losers for the day was Fast Retailing, the parent company of Uniqlo chain of apparel stores, which tumbled by 2.8 percent.
South Korea’s Kospi fell by 0.18 percent weighed by a decline in Samsung’s shares which slipped by more than 0.6 percent.
Chinese Markets Record Marginal Gains
Chinese markets recorded slight gains during early morning trading session on Wednesday, with the Shanghai composite and the Shenzhen component rising by 0.5 and 0.379 percent, respectively. This comes a day after China revised its economic growth target to 6-6.5 percent for 2019.
Mirroring the upward movement of the Chinese market, Hong-Kong’s Hang Seng index also gained 0.24 percent on Wednesday.
The Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Tuesday had said that the country must be prepared for a “tough struggle” as it faces a complex global business environment. The warning couldn’t be said to be coming out of the blue as the US-China trade war continues to go on and on.
However, things could soon take a positive turn in the long-stretched development as on Tuesday, the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo stated that Washington and Beijing are “on the cusp” of reaching a diplomatic deal which would finally put an end to the trade skirmish.
