Asian equity indexes recover on easing trade war fears

Asian stock markets were able to correct higher on Thursday following positive developments in Wall Street as news over metals tariffs help to repair market sentiment.

American indexes ended off session lows on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones industrial average easing 82.76 points to 24,801.36. The S&P 500 finished with small loses at 2,726.80, while the Nasdaq composite ended 0.4 percent higher at 7,396.65.

Stocks in American came under pressure after President Donald Trump’s top economic advisor Gary Cohn announced its resignation over disputes on trade policies, but sentiment recovered as the White House (WH) hinted on a potential tariffs exemption for Mexico and Canada.

WH Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Thursday recently presented tariffs on steel and aluminum imports could include "potential carve-outs ... based on national security."

Increases on import tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminium were heavily criticized internationally by key commercial allies of the United States, with the European Union and China promising retaliatory measures.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index was up 0.31 percent and the Topix 0.12 percent by the time of this writing, with the technology sector pushing other components higher.

South Korea's Kospi was up 0.46 percent, with industrial manufacturers like Samsung Heavy and Hyundai Heavy Industries adding 6.3 percent and 5.84 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index soared by 1.42 percent, while China’s mainland index Shanghai composite rose 0.29 percent and the Shenzhen composite grew 0.57 percent.

Earlier in the day, China’s trade surplus came above forecast at $33.74 billion against a $0.6 billion seen and a previous $20.35 billion.

<<< Asian Stock Indexes >>>

Australia ASX S&P +31.60 +0.53% 6,037.00

Shanghai Composite +10.51 +0.32% 3,282.18

Hong Kong Hang Seng +419.52 +1.39% 30,616.44

Japan Nikkei 225 +115.35 +0.54% 21,368.07

Taiwan TSEC 50 Index +98.01 +0.91% 10,843.33

<<< Next in Europe >>>

German factory orders for January are set for release at 07:00 GMT. Traders will closely watch the ECB interest rate decision at 12:45 GMT.

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Initial jobless claims are due at 13:30 GMT.

FortFS