US President Donald Trump anticipates a fair trade agreement with China's Xi Jinping. He believes China has no plans to invade Taiwan. However, a top US trade official has accused Beijing of economic coercion. These statements come ahead of a planned meeting between Trump and Xi. The US is also strengthening ties with Australia to counter China's influence.
Asian stocks rose on Tuesday as the prospect of easing trade tensions between the world's top two economies boosted risk sentiment, while the near-certainty of Sanae Takaichi becoming Japan's next prime minister sent the Nikkei to a record high.
Gold prices edged higher on Tuesday to hover near all-time highs, as strong safe-haven demand and hopes of further interest rate cuts from the U.S. Federal Reserve boosted demand for the precious metal.
Oil prices fell on Tuesday on concerns about excess supply and risks to demand stemming from tensions between the U.S. and China, the world's top two oil consumers, even as President Donald Trump said he expected to reach a trade deal.
European shares closed higher on Monday, as initial concerns over the stability of the U.S. banking sector eased, while fresh comments from U.S. President Donald Trump helped calm trade tensions, encouraging investors to move toward riskier assets.
U.S. stocks jumped on Monday with finance and technology shares providing much of the upside muscle, as upbeat quarterly earnings results revived risk appetite and investors grew less fearful about regional bank credit quality.
Major stock indexes gained sharply on Monday with investors looking forward to quarterly earnings reports from big U.S. companies this week, while U.S. Treasury yields edged lower ahead of upcoming U.S.-China trade discussions.