Asian markets rose Thursday following upbeat comments from US President Donald Trump that a trade deal with China could come sooner than expected and steps towards a new agreement with Japan.
Trump, in an appearance at the United Nations, said a deal with China was getting closer, sending Wall Street higher despite concerns over the launch of an impeachment inquiry against the mercurial leader.
The remarks came just a day after Trump railed against Chinese "abuses" at the UN summit, comments that had been seen as among the factors causing stocks to fall Tuesday.
Trump on Wednesday also said Washington and Tokyo had taken a major step towards sealing a comprehensive new trade deal, which will see Tokyo cut tariffs on $7 billion of US farm exports.
"Investors have been 'trade war' bearish for so long that any sliver of optimism is cheered," said Stephen Innes, Asia Pacific market strategist at AxiTrader.
"However, with definite signs of a trade thaw emerging that trade calm certainly trumped the impeachment probe as the S&P 500 halted a three-day slide, the dollar rallied, and yields on 10 US Treasuries rose towards 1.75 per cent."
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