TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares won a modest reprieve on Friday after China and the United States agreed to hold their first trade talks since June next week and as the Turkish lira extended gains from its record low earlier this week.
FILE PHOTO: A man walks past an electronic board showing Japan's Nikkei average outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan February 5, 2018. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/FIle Photo
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.4 percent, a day after it hit its lowest level in a year. Japan’s Nikkei advanced 0.5 percent.
In U.S. markets on Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.58 percent and the S&P 500 gained 0.79 percent.
MSCI’s index of world stocks rose 0.63 percent on Thursday, the biggest gain in a month.
News that a Chinese delegation led by Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen will meet U.S. representatives helped to improve the mood.
But the impact could be short-lived as such lower-level talks alone are unlikely to resolve the trade dispute. White House Economic adviser Larry Kudlow warned Beijing not to underestimate President Donald Trump’s resolve in pushing for changes in China’s economic policies.
Indeed, Chinese share markets were hardly impressed by the news.
The Shanghai composite index rose 0.16 percent in early Friday trade after ending down 0.66 percent at 2,705.19 on Thursday, just 0.03 point above a 2-1/2 year closing low set on Aug. 6.
That also weighed on MSCI emerging markets index, which closed at 13-month low on Thursday.
Their weakness stemmed also from falls in their currencies after the Turkish lira plunged this month on concerns about diplomatic rifts between Ankara and Washington.
“Because of the currency crisis in Turkey, investors are shifting funds from emerging
