Asian markets mixed as China inflation data offsets trade-talk hopes

Asian stock markets were mixed in early trading Thursday, as optimism over the recently concluded U.S.-China trade talks were muted by a disappointing Chinese inflation report. Earlier, U.S. and Chinese officials said progress had been made during the three days of talks in Beijing.

While major hurdles remain, the talks appeared to clear a path for higher-level negotiations that could further ease trade tensions before President Donald Trump’s March deadline, when he said he will raise tariffs on more than $200 billion in Chinese-made good from 10% to 25%.

“Although we were hoping for a more favorable statement from the U.S.-China trade talks which ended yesterday, it appears that at least on the surface that U.S.-China trade discussion remains a work in progress,” Stephen Innes, head of Asia Pacific trading at Oanda, said in a Thursday research note. “Unquestionably markets were looking for something more concrete to sink their teeth into despite the statement chock-full of positives but lacking in the necessary specificity.”

Later, China’s National Bureau of Statistics said that producer-price inflation sharply slowed in December, suggesting slower economic growth.

On Wall Street, stocks rose for the fourth consecutive session after the trade talks were extended to a third day. Traders took this as a positive sign, but a partial government shutdown at home that appeared far from being resolved limited gains.

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