Investing.com – Asian equities extended their gains in afternoon trade on Tuesday as investors took their cues from a surge on Wall Street, after reports suggested U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that China and the U.S. are in talks to reduce the trade deficit gap and avoid the $50 billion tariffs.
The news came after reports on Monday suggested White House officials sent a letter to China and requested a tariff cut on U.S. imported cars and open its financial service market to the U.S.
In response, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said the two countries should maintain negotiations and reiterated pledges to ease access for American businesses.
Overnight, the Dow surged 2.8%, while the S&P 500 jumped 2.7% and the Nasdaq climbed 3.3%.
Japan’s Nikkei closed 2.4% higher, with a weaker yen cited as catalyst for the buying in equities. The country’s land sale documents scandal and possible cover-up continued to receive focus, as former head of the country’s finance ministry division Nobuhisa Sagawa said he did not think that Abe or his wife influenced the land sale itself.
In China, the Shanghai Composite and the SZSE Component traded 0.5% and 1.5% higher respectively. Reports that HNA abandoned Gategroup’s IPO at last minute received some focus as the company cited weak investors demand. China industrial profit was in focus as the data suggested growth at Chinese industrial firms in the first two months was slower than 2017’s average growth. Industrial companies with annual earnings of more than 20 million yuan reported profits of 968.9 billion yuan in January and February, which represented a 16.1% increase from a year earlier, compared to an increase of 31.5% recorded in the first two months of 2017.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index also climbed 0.9%. Real estate developers outperformed as Evergrande Real Estate Group Ltd (HK:3333) and China Vanke Co Ltd (HK:2202)’s earnings came in higher than expected, while Country Garden Holdings Company Ltd (HK:2007)’s ratings raised to outperform at Macquarie.
Elsewhere, reports that North Korea leader Kim Jong Un is set to make a surprise visit to Beijing took center stage, although further details of his trip, including how long Kim would stay and who he would meet were not disclosed at the moment.
Meanwhile, the U.S. agreed to revise its trade deal with South Korea and exclude it from steel tariff, reports on Tuesday revealed.