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Oct 15, 2019: Asian markets mostly rose but investor caution returned as the optimism fanned by Donald Trump's much-vaunted China trade deal wore off, while the pound was boosted by a report saying a Brexit deal was taking shape.

While Friday's mini agreement between the world's economic superpowers put off fresh tariffs and saw them reach common ground on some issues, observers pointed out it was light on detail and left other major levies in place.

And, despite Trump's insistence that the "phase one" agreement was "the greatest and biggest deal", Beijing said it wanted to hold more talks and called for a delay in more tariffs before it would sign.

Equity traders, who have been under pressure from the trade war as well as the slowing global economy and worries about Brexit among others, seized on the news and sent regional markets surging Monday.

But they struggled to build on that as questions swirled over the value of the deal.

"It has taken precisely one working day of the new week for optimism to fade about the US-China trade deal lite/mini/part one," said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst for Asia-Pacific at OANDA.

"The rhetoric-high, but detail-light trade announcement in Washington DC on Friday has been tempered by China being both a lot more circumspect and requesting additional talks before signing an agreement."

He said that while he expected the two to hammer out something for Trump and counterpart Xi Jinping to sign before they are due to meet next month, "the pseudo-deal itself represents nothing more than a holding action".

"Everyone's a winner, but everything stays the same, as no progress on the hard stuff has occurred in reality."

Still, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Monday that officials would hold further talks by phone this week and next to finalise the deal, while he also defended it on CNBC.

"There is a fundamental agreement in principle," he said. "There are still some issues that need to be worked out in wording but I would say we have every expectation that phase one will close.

- Pound on the rise -

In early trade, Hong Kong and Sydney were each down 0.1 percent, and Shanghai slipped 0.6 percent.

Manila and Jakarta also fell but Tokyo jumped 1.7 percent by lunch as dealers returned from a long weekend to play catch-up with the rest of Asia.

Singapore, Seoul and Wellington were all 0.2 percent higher while Taipei added 0.4 percent.

On currency markets, the pound rebounded after Britain's Daily Telegraph said a divorce deal was taking shape, EU and British negotiators hailing a positive day of talks on the Northern Ireland issue.

The paper quoted unnamed sources as saying there was "cautious optimism", while the BBC said the EU is considering holding an emergency summit to push through a possible deal. It said there was not enough time to get anything done before a summit set for this week.

The reports will come as welcome news after European officials played down the chances of an agreement that had been aired by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Irish counterpart Leo Varadkar last week.

Sterling was up against the dollar and euro on Tuesday, with David Kelly at JP Morgan Asset Management saying the Johnson-Varadkar talks had sparked a "whirlwind of diplomacy between the British government and the Europeans to try to come up with an agreement this week".

He added in a note: "While it is by no means certain that the UK and Europe can agree to a deal or that such a deal can make it through the UK parliament, there does appear to be recognition from the British side that any Brexit deal will have to treat Northern Ireland very differently from the rest of the UK.

"In the multiple permutations of Brexit endgames, this has reduced the risk of a damaging 'no deal' Brexit."

- Key figures around 0230 GMT -

• Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.7 percent at 22,174.45 (break)
• Hong Kong - Hang Seng: DOWN 0.1 percent at 26,498.03
• Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.6 percent at 2,990.72
• Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2615 from $1.2555 at 2040 GMT
• Euro/pound: DOWN at 87.44 pence from 87.79 pence
• Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1032 from $1.1024
• Dollar/yen: DOWN at 108.36 yen from 108.39 yen
• West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 11 cents at $53.48 per barrel
• Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 18 cents at $59.17 per barrel
• New York - Dow: DOWN 0.1 percent at 26,787.36 (close)
• London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.5 percent at 7,213.45 (close)

AFP/APP

Oct 15, 2019: The British pound fell against the euro and dollar Monday, the start of a pivotal week for Britain and the European Union to strike a Brexit deal.

European stock markets also retreated as weak Chinese data offset a partial trade deal between China and the United States, analysts said.

Asian investors had earlier Monday saluted the trade deal, sending regional equity markets rallying, though observers were sceptical about the overall significance of the agreement.

Official data meanwhile showed Chinese imports and exports fell more than forecast in September, as US tariffs and cooling demand at home and abroad hit trade in the world's second largest economy.

The figures weighed heavily on the oil market, with crude futures slumping around two percent. They had surged Friday, fuelled by a blast on an Iranian tanker and news of the US-China deal.

"Although the US and China made some progress late last week and President Trump suspended tariffs due to come in in mid-October, the damage from the existing trade restrictions is being felt," noted Fiona Cincotta, senior market analyst at City Index trading group.

She added: "The pound has dropped like a stone overnight after Brexit negotiations didn't lead to any significant progress over the weekend."

Sterling rallied late last week after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Irish counterpart Leo Varadkar said after meeting that they could see a "pathway" to reaching a Brexit deal.

But European officials on Sunday said obstacles remained on how to manage trade and customs between EU-member Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is a part of the United Kingdom.

Time is running out to sign off on any deal at an October 17-18 European Union summit, the last such meeting before Britain's scheduled departure from the European Union at the end of the month.

Sterling "is in the red as dealers are less hopeful that a deal will be struck between the UK and the EU," said David Madden, analyst at CMC Markets UK.

"Sterling enjoyed a massive rally at the back end of last week due to optimism surrounding the Brexit talks, but now the Northern Ireland-customs union roadblock has popped up again," he said, adding the possibility of Britain requesting an extension has helped avoid further losses.

Wall Street was mixed in late morning trading, with trading volumes low on the Columbus Day holiday.

- Key figures around 1530 GMT -

• Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2583 from $1.2645 at 2050 GMT on Friday
• Euro/pound: UP at 87.37 pence from 87.26 pence
• Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1028 from $1.1035
• Dollar/yen: DOWN at 108.38 yen from 108.39 yen
• London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.5 percent at 7,213.45 points (close)
• Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.4 percent at 5,643.08 (close)
• Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN 0.2 percent at 12,486.56 (close)
• EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.4 percent at 3,554.73
• New York - Dow: UP less than 0.1 percent at 26,830.43
• Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 0.8 percent at 26,521.85 (close)
• Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.2 percent at 3,007.88 (close)
• Tokyo - Nikkei 225: Closed for a public holiday
• Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 2.6 percent at $58.91 per barrel
• West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.7 percent at $53.20 per barrel

AFP/APP

October 14, 2019 (MLN): Financial institutions from various countries responded to the Ministry of Finance’s (MoF) request for proposal for the issue of Eurobond and Sukuks.

According to sources, the institutions were Dubai Islamic Bank, Bank of China, JPMorgan, Citibank, Credit Suisse, Emirates NBD, Deutsche Bank, China International Trust Investment Corporation (CITIC) and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC).

The Ministry of Finance will make two consortiums, one each for Eurobond and Sukuk issue and determine the issue size at a future date.

Copyright Mettis Link News

October 14, 2019: Indus River System Authority (IRSA) on Monday releases 103,500 cusecs water from various rim stations with inflow of 80,800 cusecs.

According to the data released by IRSA, the water level in Indus River at Tarbela Dam was 1525.70 feet, which was 139.70 feet higher than its dead level of 1,380 feet. Water inflow in the dam was recorded as 40,400 cusecs and outflow as 40,000 cusecs.

The water level in Jhelum River at Mangla Dam was 1202.20 feet, which was 163.20 feet higher than its dead level of 1,040 feet whereas the inflow and outflow of water was recorded as 11,900 cusecs and 35,000 cusecs respectively.

The release of water at Kalabagh, Taunsa and Sukkur was recorded as 55,700, 52,600 and 43,900 cusecs respectively.

Similarly from the Kabul River, 15,300 cusecs of water was released at Nowshera and 5,000 cusecs from the Chenab River at Marala. The total water storage stood at 9.353 million acre feet.

APP

October 14, 2019: The price of 24 karat gold increased by Rs. 300 and was traded at Rs. 87,100 per tola as compared to the last closing at Rs. 86,800, Karachi Sarafa Association reported on Monday.

The price of 10 gram gold also witnessed increase of Rs. 257 and was traded at Rs. 74,674 against Rs. 74,417 the last trading day.

The price of silver remained stable at Rs. 1,040 per tola while the prices of 10 gram silver also witness no change and was traded at Rs. 891.63.

In international market, the price of per ounce gold increased by $6 and was traded at $1,496 as compared to the last closing at $1,490.

APP