SYDNEY (Reuters) - Asian shares and U.S. stock futures slipped on Tuesday as pessimism about world growth drove investors away from risky assets, while sterling dithered as the latest plan for Brexit appeared to come and go with no progress.
SYDNEY/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Tuesday as signs of a spreading global economic slowdown stoked concerns over future fuel demand.
NEW YORK: Oil prices steadied on Thursday, boosted by a rebound in U.S. equities, after earlier losses on fears about surging U.S. crude production and a weakening global economy.
Brent crude oil futures were down 14 cents to 61.19 a barrel by 2:04 p.m. EST (1904 GMT). U.S. crude futures fell 32 cents to $52 a barrel. Earlier in the session, both benchmarks dropped about 2 percent.
Source: The Star
In a bid to attract more investors to the sector, the Ministry of Agriculture is working on a proposal to reduce taxes on rubber exports.
TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian stocks gained early on Friday, as hopes for a thaw in the U.S.-China trade conflict fed investor appetites for risk assets.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin discussed lifting some or all tariffs imposed on Chinese imports and suggested offering a tariff rollback during trade discussions scheduled for Jan. 30.
U.S. stocks rallied following the report, but pared some of those gains after a Treasury spokesperson told CNBC that Mnuchin had not made any such recommendations. For the day, all three major U.S. indexes were up, led by a surge in industrial stocks. [.N]
Following Wall Street’s lead, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS added 0.25 percent. The index has gained nearly 1 percent this week.
Australian stocks rose 0.6 percent, as did South Korea's KOSPI .KS11 while Japan's Nikkei .N225 gained 0.7 percent.
“As with 2018, the U.S.-China trade row remains a key market theme in 2019. A slight difference is that there are some signs that the two sides are seeking some sort of a resolution,” said Soichiro Monji, senior economist at Daiwa SB Investments in Tokyo.
“China seems to be running low on options, while the United States would also want to avoid a prolonged conflict given the negative consequences on its markets and the economy,” Monji said.
Chinese Vice Premier Liu He will visit the United States on Jan. 30 and 31 for the latest round of trade talks aimed at resolving the bitter dispute between the world’s two largest economies.
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Asian shares crept higher on Thursday as upbeat bank earnings bolstered Wall Street, while an anti-climactic end to the latest chapter in the Brexit saga gave sterling a moment’s peace.