Asian shares rise despite worries on US-China talks

TOKYO – Asian shares rose Tuesday despite continuing worries about the health of the global economy ahead of trade talks between the U.S. and China.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 1.1% to 21,604.16 in early trading. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added nearly 0.6% to 6,599.60, while South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.7% to 2,035.69.

Chinese markets resumed trading after recent holidays. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.9% to 26,050.91, while the Shanghai Composite was up 0.6% at 2,921.43.

“Having sold off through late September, this positioning ahead of the trade talks suggests that the market is not entirely pessimistic towards the outcome,” said Jingyi Pan, a market strategist for IG in Singapore.

On Wall Street, the market extended its losing streak into a fourth week on Monday.

The market is coming off a three-week skid following a mostly discouraging batch of economic data that stoked investors’ worries that a slowdown in U.S. economic growth could worsen.

The combination of uncertainty over the costly trade war between the U.S. and China and the impeachment inquiry unfolding in Washington is likely to continue to drag on the economy and weigh on markets.

The S&P 500 fell 13.22 points, or 0.4%, at 2,938.79. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 95.70 points, or 0.4%, to 26,478.02. The Nasdaq dropped 26.18 points, or 0.3%, to 7,956.29.

Envoys from Washington and Beijing are scheduled to meet later this week in their latest bid to put an end to the dispute that is stunting global economic growth and spooking markets.

ENERGY: Benchmark crude oil added 32 cents to $53.07 a barrel. It fell 6 cents to $52.75 a barrel on Monday. Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 35 cents to $58.70 a barrel.

CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 107.32 Japanese yen from 106.84 yen on Monday. The euro weakened to $1.0976 from $1.0983.