· Stocks in Europe moved higher Tuesday morning as investors monitored trade and political developments.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up by 0.6 percent, with almost every sector in positive territory. Auto stocks led the gains on the back of earnings. Michelin was the top performing stock across Europe, up by more than 7 percent, after giving a strong outlook for2019.
· Asian shares gained on Tuesday as investors hoped a new round of U.S.-China trade talks would help to resolve a dispute that has dented global growth and some corporate earnings.
Market sentiment also got a boost on news U.S. lawmakers had reached a tentative deal on border security funding that could help avert another partial government shutdown due to start on Saturday. Congressional aides, however, said it did not contain the $5.7billion President Donald Trump wants for a border wall.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged up 0.3 percent.
Analysts are now expecting U.S. corporate earnings for the current quarter to drop 0.2 percent from last year, which would be the first contraction since the second quarter of 2016.
· Hong Kong stocks closed up 27.49 points, or 0.10 percent, to 28,171.33 points on Tuesday.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index traded between 27,983.48 and 28,219.59. Turnover totaled 95.99 billion Hong Kong dollars (about 12.23 billion U.S. dollars).
· Tokyo stocks closed higher on Tuesday following reports that US lawmakers had agreed in principle to avoid a government shutdown, with the market also helped by a cheaper yen.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index soared 2.61 per cent, or 531.04 points, to end at 20,864.21, while the broader Topix index rose 2.16 per cent, or 33.20 points, to 1,572.60.
Reference: CNBC, Reuters, Xiahua
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