Market Watch
Date: May 10, 2019
By: Marketwatch and Associated Press
Asian shares saw a mostly positive session Friday, led by a rally for the Shanghai Composite as some investors grew hopeful that China and the U.S. would carve out a trade deal, though there was some speculation Chinese officials may have intervened to boost that market.
The Trump administration rose tariffs to 25% from 10% on $200 billion of Chinese goods at 12:01 a.m. Friday. Still, President Donald Trump said Thursday he had received a “beautiful” letter from China’s President Xi Jinping and said a trade deal with China was still possible this week. U.S. and Chinese negotiators agreed to meet again Friday, in a positive sign following speculation that Thursday’s meeting in Washington was simply perfunctory.
The tariff hikes reportedly won’t hit goods that have already left Chinese ports before Friday’s deadline, so they won’t start taking affect until those shipments complete the three- to four-week voyage across the Pacific Ocean, in effect buying negotiators a little time to still work out a deal.
China has threatened to retaliate if President Donald Trump goes ahead with the tariff hikes, adding to the heated rhetoric from both sides that was shaking stock markets around the world.
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