· Asian shares trod water on Friday as investors awaited key central bank policy meetings next week amid signs of slowing global growth, while sterling extended its slide on a fresh bout of Brexit anxiety.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was up just 0.05%, having spent the day oscillating between small losses and gains.
Investors remain cautious despite risk assets gains in recent weeks supported by apparent progress in Brexit negotiations and China-U.S. trade talks.
· Japan’s benchmark Nikkei share average inched up to a fresh one-year peak on Friday as some positive earnings from overseas tech companies offset growth concerns, with semiconductor-related stocks leading the gainers.
The Nikkei average rose 0.2% to 22,799.81, its highest closing level since October last year. For the week, it was up 1.4%, the third consecutive weekly advance.
The broader Topix gained 0.3% to 1,648.44, its highest close in 10-1/2 months.
· Chinese stocks rose on Friday as Beijing reportedly sought the scrapping of Washington's tariffs on its goods in exchange for buying more U.S. agricultural products, ahead of high-level trade talks later in the day.
At the close, the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.5% at 2,954.93 points. The CSI300 was up 0.7%. ** The Shanghai index was up 0.6% week-on-week, CSI300 was up 0.7% from the previous week.
Robert Lighthizer, the United States Trade Representative, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He will speak by telephone on Friday, their latest attempt to calm a nearly 16-month trade war.
· European stocks traded cautiously on Friday after U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced plans to push for a fresh general election in December, while corporate earnings season remains in focus.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 bounced either side of the flatline in early trade, with retail stocks rising 1.2% to lead gains while the food and beverage sector dropped 1.8%.
European Union member states are in the process of discussing the length of a proposed extension to the U.K.’s October 31 deadline for leaving the EU, with most states understood to favor a three-month delay with an option to leave earlier if Johnson’s new Withdrawal Agreement Bill is ratified by British parliament.
The prime minister meanwhile has offered to give British lawmakers more time to debate his deal if they back a general election on December 12, with Members of Parliament set to vote Monday on a motion to send the U.K. to the polls again.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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