Asian Markets Mixed as Traders Await More Sino-U.S. Trade News

Investing.com - Asian markets were mixed in morning trade on Wednesday as traders monitored developments on U.S.-China trade.

China’s Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Component slipped 0.1% and 0.3% respectively. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index edged up 0.1%.

Markets continued to focus on the latest news on the Sino-U.S. trade front, as the two nations work toward signing a partial deal this month.

The South China Morning Post reported today that China still wants U.S. President Donald Trump to remove more tariffs on Chinese goods as part of the “phase one” trade deal.

Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of China’s state media Global Times, said the two sides must “proportionally, simultaneously” remove the additional tariffs imposed since the trade war.

“New tariffs treat is not a bargaining chip,” he added.

“The U.S.-China trade deal, I think, is really off to a reasonable start. I saw the president say it’s 60% of the way there, I’m not sure of that but I do believe there’s going to be continued momentum on the trade front,” Michael Yoshikami, founder and CEO of Destination Wealth Management, told CNBC in an interview.

“Both countries need it badly,” Yoshikami said, adding that more progress on the deal will likely be seen in the rest of this year and the first quarter of next year.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 inched up 0.1%, while South Korea’s KOSPI was near flat.

Down under, Australia’s ASX 200 traded 0.2% lower. Shares of Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd (ASX:VAH) were down 1.6% after the company’s Chief Executive Paul Scurrah said the carrier will cut domestic capacity by at least 2% next year.

It will also cancel a Melbourne-Hong Kong route, which the company said had underperformed amid political unrest.

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