MANILA, Philippines — Asian shares were mostly higher Friday after the White House confirmed plans for President Donald Trump to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping next week.
The confirmation reduced some of the uncertainty surrounding trade tensions between the two biggest economies, though prospects for a significant trade deal remain unclear.
Chinese benchmarks also gained after the ruling Communist Party wrapped up an important planning meeting without any major policy changes.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 0.6% to 26,122.10, while the Shanghai Composite index added 0.4% to 3,938.98.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rebounded Friday from the previous day’s losses, adding nearly 1.5% to 49,380.25. Tech shares were among gainers as sentiment was boosted by the White House confirmation of Trump’s meeting with Xi.
Data released Friday showed Japan’s core inflation rate rose to 2.9% in September from 2.7% in August. Despite price pressures, the Bank of Japan is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged at a meeting next week: newly elected Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has expressed a preference to keep rates low.
In Seoul, the Kospi surged 2.3% to 3,935.75, a fresh record, as gains on Wall Street and news of the Trump-Xi summit lifted investor sentiment and eased trade worries.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped less than 0.1% to 9,027.00 after preliminary data showed Australia’s factory activity contracted to 49.7 in October from 51.4 in September.
India’s BSE Sensex was nearly unchanged, while Taiwan’s stock market was closed for a holiday.
U.S. stocks rose to the cusp of their records on Thursday, as oil prices jumped after President Donald Trump announced “massive” new sanctions on Russia’s crude industry.
On Wall Street on Thursday, the S&P 500 climbed 0.6% to 6,738.44, within 0.2% of its all-time high set earlier this month.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.3% to 46,734.61, just below its own record set earlier this week. The