SYDNEY- Asian shares rallied and the safe-haven yen eased on Friday after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un offered to stop nuclear and missile testing and US President Donald Trump agreed to a meeting that could come before May.
National South Korea advisor made the announcement at the White House after delivering letter from Kim.
The possible ease of geopolitical tensions has been welcomed by Asian markets, the Japan’s Nikkei climb 2.3%. South Korean stocks enjoyed their best day since May with a rise of 1.76%.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.6%, while Australia firmed 0.5%.
The markets were a bit more jubilant after Trump announced he will press ahead with tariffs but offered conditional exemptions for Canada and Mexico, offering at least the hope that a full blow trade war will be avoided.
Greg McKenna chief strategist at broker AxiTrader said, “Markets have cheered up a little but exclusions are likely to come with caveats demanding reciprocity – that’s the kind of guy the President is,”
“Fears have been eased in the immediate term, but it’s clear that China, and to a lesser extent the EU, is about to come in for greater scrutiny.”
The Canadian dollar and Mexican peso went a little bit higher, though both countries remain locked in tough negotiations with the United States over NAFTA.
Photo Credit- SGX Stock Tips – WordPress.com
Leave a Reply