TOKYO: Asian stocks edged up on Thursday on signs the United States and China were on track for a preliminary trade deal, though optimism was tempered by the almost daily shifts in prospects for defusing the damaging tariff war now in its second year.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.3per cent. Australian shares were up 0.9per cent, while Japan's Nikkei stock index rose 0.81per cent. "My base case scenario is the two sides reach some deal. The pressure for a deal is immense simply because of the economic slowdown in both countries. However, we see increased volatility because policy uncertainty has become a constant."
If both sides cannot reach an agreement soon, the next important date to watch is Dec. 15, when Washington is scheduled to impose even more tariffs on Chinese goods. However, Trump has repeatedly sent mixed messages about the status of negotiations, sparking fits of optimism and despair in financial markets.