Global shares were mixed Wednesday after the U.S. said it would hold off on tariffs on Chinese imports of cellphones, toys and several other items typically on holiday shopping lists.
France's CAC 40 slipped 0.3% to 5,346.57. Germany's DAX dipped 0.3% to 11,710.38. Britain's FTSE 100 inched up less than 0.1% to 7,251.10. U.S. shares were set to drift lower with Dow futures down 0.3% to 26,236, while S&P 500 futures were also down 0.3% at 2,923.50.
Japan's Nikkei 225 added nearly 1.0% to finish at 20,655.13, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.4% to 6,595.90. South Korea's Kospi gained 0.7% to 1,938.37. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was little changed but inched up less than 0.1% to 25,284.96. The Shanghai Composite edged up 0.4% to 2,808.91.
Also boosting investor sentiments were comments from China that the two sides held discussions on trade overnight and would talk again in the next two weeks.
The markets have been in a spin cycle since President Donald Trump announced on Aug. 1 that he would impose 10% tariffs on about $300 billion in Chinese imports, which would be on top of 25% tariffs already in place on $250 billion in imports. The threat dashed hopes that a resolution may come soon in the trade war between the world's two largest economies, and investors have grown increasingly concerned that it may drag on through the 2020 U.S. election.
On Tuesday, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said it would delay the tariffs on some products, including popular consumer goods, until Dec. 15. A few other products were removed altogether, including certain types of fish and baby seats.
But some analysts were cautious.
"Markets are responding with muted relief to the latest round in the trade saga but nothing has really changed," said Robert Carnell, chief economist head of research, Asia-Pacific, at ING.
Chinese factory output, retail spending and investment weakened in July, suggesting the world's second-largest economy faces downward pressure on growth.
Factory output rose 4.8% over a year earlier, a marked decline from June's 6.3%. Retail sales growth slowed to 7.6% from the previous month's 9.8%. Investment in real estate and other fixed assets also weakened.
The data suggest "economic growth now faces renewed downward pressure," Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics said in a report.
He said Beijing's decision to let its yuan weaken against the dollar "is unlikely to fully offset" the impact of U.S. tariff hikes and cooling global demand for Chinese exports.
