SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Most Asian shares crept higher on Wednesday following a firm Wall Street finish, but gains were curbed by weak data in the region and intensifying fears over volatile Sino-U.S. trade relations.
A woman walks in strong wind caused by Typhoon Lan, past an electronic board showing the graphs of the recent movements of Japan's Nikkei average outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, October 23, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato - RC1442136C90
Global markets had inched higher on Tuesday, helped by a Bloomberg report that the United States and China were seeking to resume trade talks to defuse a battle over import tariffs.
However, later reports that the U.S. plans tariffs of 25 percent on $200 billion in Chinese imports injected some uncertainty back into financial markets, with the offshore yuan and the Australian dollar lower, and China shares down.
A source told Reuters that an announcement on Washington’s tariff plans for China could come as early as Wednesday.
The seemingly contradictory signals on U.S.-China trade are puzzling for investors, said Ryan Felsman, senior economist at CommSec in Sydney.
“It’s a little bit confusing, but really I think markets are ... focused more broadly on the earnings season that’s going on in the U.S., and also Australia is about to begin its corporate earnings season,” he said.
In Asia, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.1 percent, while Japan’s Nikkei stock index gained 0.7 percent. S&P E-mini futures were down less than 0.1 percent at 2,815.25 after earlier edging higher.
The Taiwan weighted index rose 0.3 percent, with tech shares getting a boost after Apple Inc. beat Wall Street expectations for its quarterly results thanks to robust sales of its top-of-the-line iPhone X. The company’s shares rose 3.4 percent
