Manila, Oct 24 (AP) – Asian shares experienced a mostly positive trend on Friday following the White House’s confirmation of President Donald Trump’s upcoming meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping next week. This announcement alleviated some uncertainties regarding the ongoing trade tensions between the United States and China, although the likelihood of a significant trade agreement remains uncertain.

Chinese stock indices also saw gains after the ruling Communist Party concluded a significant planning meeting without introducing major policy changes. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong increased by 0.6%, reaching 26,122.10, while the Shanghai Composite index rose by 0.4% to 3,938.98.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rebounded from previous losses, climbing nearly 1.5% to 49,380.25, with technology shares among the gainers, buoyed by the news of the Trump-Xi meeting. Meanwhile, data released indicated that Japan’s core inflation rate rose to 2.9% in September, up from 2.7% in August. Despite these inflationary pressures, the Bank of Japan is expected to maintain its current interest rates at an upcoming meeting, as newly elected Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi favors low rates.

Seoul’s Kospi index surged by 2.3% to a record high of 3,935.75, driven by positive sentiment from Wall Street and the announcement of the Trump-Xi summit, which eased trade concerns. Conversely, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 experienced a slight decline of less than 0.1%, settling at 9,027.00, following preliminary data that showed a contraction in Australia’s factory activity, dropping to 49.7 in October from 51.4 in September.

India’s BSE Sensex remained nearly unchanged, while Taiwan’s stock market was closed for a holiday. In the United States, stocks approached record highs on Thursday, as oil prices surged following President Trump’s announcement of “massive” new sanctions targeting Russia’s crude oil industry.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose by 0.6% to 6,738.44, just 0.2% shy of its all-time high set earlier this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 0.3% to 46,734.61, remaining just below its record established earlier in the week, while the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.9% to 22,941.80.

Companies within the oil and gas sector led the market gains, with Exxon Mobil up 1.1%, ConocoPhillips rising by 3.1%, and Diamondback Energy increasing by 3.4%. These gains coincided with a roughly 5.5% jump in crude prices following the sanctions against Russian oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil, aimed at pressuring President Vladimir Putin to cease hostilities in Ukraine.

Despite the recent price increases, oil prices remain down over 10% for the year, with US benchmark crude dropping by 22 cents to $61.57 per barrel, and Brent crude down by 21 cents to $65.78.

Strong earnings reports from several major US companies contributed to the upward momentum in the markets. Dow, a chemicals manufacturer, surged by 12.9%, while Las Vegas Sands rallied by 12.4% after both companies exceeded analysts’ earnings expectations. Tesla rebounded by 2.3% after initially losing ground, reporting weaker profits but stronger-than-expected revenue for the latest quarter.

The pressure remains on companies to deliver robust profit growth, countering concerns that stock prices have risen excessively following a 35% increase in the S&P 500 since its low in April. In early trading on Friday, gold prices fell by 0.4% to $4,129.30 an ounce, after climbing 2% to $4,145.60 per ounce on Thursday. The US dollar strengthened against the Japanese yen, rising to 152.96 from 152.60, while the euro dipped to $1.1608 from $1.1618. (AP) SCY SCY