Japan's Nikkei 225 crosses 50,000 mark, Kospi rises 2% on US-China trade talks

Global Markets Today: Japan’s Nikkei 225 crossed the 50,000 mark for the first time on Monday, leading regional gains as investors welcomed progress in U.S.-China trade negotiations and positive cues from Wall Street. The benchmark index rallied more than 2 per cent, while the Topix climbed 1.61 per cent.

South Korea's Kospi surged 1.83 per cent after reaching an all-time high on Friday, and the Kosdaq gained 0.72 per cent.

Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index signaled a stronger opening, trading at 26,256 compared with the previous close of 26,160.15, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 opened 0.54 per cent higher.

What's behind the rally?

Asian markets traded higher on Monday after senior U.S. and Chinese trade officials established a framework addressing several contentious issues, setting the stage for Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping to finalize the agreement.

Positive signs from both sides of the talks stood in sharp contrast to recent weeks, when Beijing’s introduction of new export curbs and Trump’s counter-threat of hefty tariffs risked dragging the world’s two largest economies back into a full-blown trade war.

“This looks like a win on optics for both sides. Broader markets are likely to take this as a short-term risk-on cue. But the rally will need to be backed by fundamentals to sustain,” Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo Markets in Singapore, was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.

US stock market today

US stock futures rose sharply as trading resumed Sunday evening local time, fueled by optimism over a potential US-China trade deal and expectations of further monetary easing by the Federal Reserve later this week.

Dow Jones futures gained 300 points, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures rose 50 points and 220 points, respectively.

The futures rally follows a strong session last Friday, with the Dow surging over 400 points to close above 47,000 for the first time, and the S&P 500 hitting a record high.

Labor Department’s Consumer Price Index stayed high in September but came in slightly below analysts’ expectations, easing concerns about tariffs driving inflation sharply higher and essentially confirming a 25-basis-point rate cut at the Fed’s policy meeting next week.

(With inputs from agencies)

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