Asian markets rally on fresh trade hopes after troubled week

Aug 30, 2019: Renewed hopes for trade talks boosted Asian equities on Friday after China said it would not retaliate against the latest US tariffs, setting up a positive end to a volatile week.

With huge levies on hundreds-of-billions-of-dollars worth of goods due to kick in over the weekend, the long-running trade war between the world's top two economies steps up a gear, and observers are fretting the row could drag on.

But Beijing on Thursday appeared to want to dial down the tensions, saying it would hold off on responding in kind, as it has previously warned it would do.

"The escalation of the trade war is not beneficial to China, and it is not beneficial to the United States," commerce ministry spokesman Gao Feng said.

Later, Donald Trump said talks between the two were planned for later Thursday, though there was no indication any had taken place by early Asian trade.

The news came as a big relief for markets, which have been hit by volatility over the standoff after both sides last week unveiled fresh tariffs, with Trump slamming Beijing but days later saying they had held phone talks and negotiations would resume soon.

All three main US indexes ended with steep gains, which filtered through to Asia.

AFP/APP