Seoul Gazette - Stocks diverge tracking US-China trade progress

The White House confirmed President Donald Trump would meet China's Xi Jinping next week, stoking optimism for a cooling of trade tensions between the economic superpowers.

Gains for Asian equities, which followed a strong performance Thursday on Wall Street, came as a surge in oil prices sputtered.

Crude futures soared this week after Washington imposed sanctions on two Russian oil giants in a bid to bring an end to the Ukraine war.

"News on trade is supporting risk sentiment across the board into the weekend," noted Neil Wilson, UK investor strategist at Saxo Markets.

"But given this is Trump and brinkmanship goes hand in glove with showmanship, talks with Xi could go either way.

"And indeed the trade picture is not so optimistic everywhere we look. The Canadian dollar fell after Trump said he would halt all trade negotiations with the country," Wilson added.

European stock markets were lower despite positive data on the business activity in the eurozone and Britain, as investors booked profits heading into the weekend break.

Investors were keenly awaiting Friday's release of US consumer price data, which has been delayed by the government shutdown in Washington.

Ahead of the data, markets widely expected the Federal Reserve to cut US interest rates when it meets next week.

The rouble showed little reaction after Russia's central bank on Friday had cut its key interest rate to 16.5 percent.

It added that the country's growth had slowed to almost zero, as the economy sags under the cost of the Ukraine offensive and Western sanctions.

- Key figures at around 1000 GMT -

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 9,566.70 points

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.5 percent at 8,185.64

Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.1 percent at 24,192.33

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.4 percent at 49,299.65 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.7 percent at 25,160.15 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.7 percent at 3,950.31 (close)

New York - Dow: UP 0.3 percent at 46,734.61 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1616 from $1.1615 on Thursday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3320 from $1.3323

Dollar/yen: UP at 152.95 from 152.60 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 87.21 pence from 87.18 pence

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.1 percent at $66.04 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.1 percent at $61.82 per barrel

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S.Yang--SG