Market paring its yesterday advance as U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he was optimistic that a final trade deal could be reached with China and that he would hold a summit to sign any pact, but cautioned that an agreement may still not happen.
Traders are awaiting for signs on the progress on trade expressed by the world's two biggest economies that has been tested by protectionism and forecasts of slowing global economic growth. Also in focus will be a hearing from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, where investors will get the latest read on monetary policy.
Traders are eyeing a slate of data due in the second half of the week for fresh cues on the health of the global economy, including manufacturing activity figures from China and the United States and revised US fourth quarter gross domestic product figures. Investors are also looking for fresh cues on the Federal Reserve's latest view on the economy and monetary policy. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will testify before the Senate Banking Committee later on Tuesday, in the first of a two-day appearance before lawmakers. Powell and other Fed policymakers have indicated they favour patience before raising key lending rates again due to recent signs of slowing economic growth. The futures market implied traders bet the central bank would not raise interest rates at all in 2019.
Exporter shares such as automakers rose following the recent weakening by the yen against the dollar. Mazda Motor Corp climbed 0.5%, Honda Motor Co added 0.05% and Nissan Motor Co rose 0.3%.
Energy stocks declined, as crude oil prices fell 3% on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump called on OPEC to ease its efforts to boost crude prices, which he said were getting too high. Petroleum and natural gas developer Inpex Corp fell 3.1% and refiners Showa Shell Sekiyu KK and Cosmo Energy Holdings Co were down 2.3% and 2.6%, respectively.
In company news, Izutsuya Co surged nearly 15% after the operator of department stores raised its operating profit forecast for the year through February 2019 to 1.3 billion yen ($11.72 million) from 1.1 billion yen.
CURRENCY NEWS: The Japanese yen hovered near its weakest against the dollar on Tuesday after optimism over Sino-US trade negotiations boosted investors' appetite for riskier assets during the previous session. The safe-haven Japanese yen was steady at 111.05 yen after falling as low as 111.24 yen during the previous session, its lowest since Dec. 27. The dollar rose more than 0.3 per cent versus the yen on Monday.
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