Asian stocks go mixed as trade fears ease, but tensions remain

• Chinese equities have received a boost from expected trade talks between the US and China.
• Broader markets remain tentatively risk-off, and indexes outside of China are seeing soft losses on the day.

Asian stock markets wound up mixed for Thursday, with Chinese indexes seeing minor gains as trade war tensions relax for the time being, but Japan’s bourses retracted on the day as broader markets remain underbid.

Japanese markets closed Thursday in the red, with the Nikkei 225 index down -0.20% and Tokyo’s Topix index down -0.15%. Emerging markets were similarly facing downside pressure, with the broad Asia-Pacific MSCI index down -0.11%.

The mood was better in Australia, with the ASX 200 remaining relatively flat on the day, up 0.06%, while in China, risk appetite was remarkably better than it has been lately, with a perceived thaw between the US and China helping to boost hopes of a successful talk-down from the current tradewar ledge that US President Trump and Shanghai have found themselves on. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index is in the green for almost a full percentage point, and the Shanghai CSI 300 bourse up a comparable 0.87%.

Nikkei 225 Technical Levels