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Stock markets mostly retreated Thursday as traders digested a high-stakes meeting between the US and Chinese presidents, mixed company earnings and uncertainty over further US interest rate cuts.US President Donald Trump described his meeting in South Korea with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping — their first since 2019, during Trump’s first term — as “amazing”.The two leaders agreed to calm the US-China trade war that has roiled global markets, with Washington cutting some tariffs and Beijing committing to keep supplies of critical rare earths flowing.But stock markets turned mostly lower after having hit new records in the run-up to the meeting and earnings reports by tech giants. “Doubts over the possible returns on investments planned for artificial general intelligence, the Fed’s ‘hawkish’ rate cut and President Trump’s underwhelming trade deal with China have done little to boost sentiment,” said David Morrison, senior market analyst at financial services provider Trade Nation.US big tech companies were in focus again Thursday, following a mixed reaction to earnings reports from Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft after Wall Street closed on Wednesday.Shares in Meta dove around 12 percent as trading got underway, while Microsoft shed 2.2 percent.Shares in Google-parent Alphabet rose 2.6 percent.”These latest results highlight the business models of the big technology firms are becoming more capital intensive, as they build out their AI capabilities,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould. He added, however, that if AI fails to deliver revenue streams, “the effect on share prices could be brutal.”Shares in Nvidia gave up 2.3 percent a day after becoming the first company to reach a $5 trillion market value.Seoul’s stock market got a lift from tech giant Samsung Electronics posting a 32 percent rise in on-year profits for the third quarter, driven by AI-fuelled market demand for memory chips.The European Central Bank held interest rates steady, as expected, as inflation hovers around its target and the eurozone economy holds up. Data on Thursday showed the eurozone economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter of 2025. The Bank of Japan also held interest rates steady on Thursday, after the US Federal Reserve delivered a second quarter-point rate cut. Fed chair Jerome Powell’s announcement, however, cast doubt on an additional cut in December, jolting US markets and lifting the value of the dollar on Wednesday.Advertising giant WPP led losses in London, dropping more than 17 percent after it cut its annual outlook.Shares in auto giant Stellantis, whose brands include Jeep, Fiat and Peugeot, sank over 10 percent despite rising sales as the group said it expects to incur charges in the second half of the year.Volkswagen shares fell nearly two percent after its first quarterly loss for five years, topping one billion euros.Danish weight-loss drugmaker Novo Nordisk, owner of treatments Wegovy and Ozempic, saw its shares fall more than four percent after it launched a bidding war with US rival Pfizer for obesity treatment maker Metsera.- Key figures at around 1330 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 0.4 percent at 47,450.07New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.6 percent at 6,850.87New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.8 percent at 23,764.12London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.6 percent at 9,701.29 pointsParis – CAC 40: DOWN 0.8 percent at 8,135.14Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.2 at 24,083.79Tokyo – Nikkei 225: FLAT at 51,325.61 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.2 percent at 26,282.69 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.7 percent at 3,986.90 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1571 from $1.1595 on WednesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3139 from $1.3187Dollar/yen: UP at 154.33 yen from 152.82 yenEuro/pound: UP at 88.07 from 87.94 penceBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.1 percent at $63.64 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.1 percent at $59.81 per barrel

Struggling Japanese carmaker Nissan said it expected to suffer an operating loss of 275 billion ($1.8 billion) in its fiscal year that ends in March as it faces further economic headwinds.It also said it expected an operating loss of 30 billion yen for the first six months of the fiscal year, which runs through September.Nissan reported a net loss of 671 billion yen for the financial year to March 2025, and launched an effort cut 20,000 jobs, some 15 percent of its workforce.The first-half operating loss of 30 billion yen is better than the automaker had been forecasting. Nissan attributed it to one-time benefits including lower costs to emission regulations. It said it had also deferred some project costs to the second half of the year.”While our first-half results reflect temporary benefits and payback from cost-saving initiatives, we anticipate ongoing challenging competitive environment in the second half, supply chain risks and the seasonality of business,” said Chief Financial Officer Jeremie Papin.The expected worsening of its performance in the second half of its fiscal year reflected “anticipated challenges in the second half due to supply chain risks, foreign exchange volatility, tariffs, and other external factors,” the automaker said in a statement.It said it now expected sales of 11.7 trillion yen in 2025-2026, down from its initial estimate in May of 12.5 trillion yen.Nissan has faced numerous speed bumps in recent years — including the 2018 arrest of former boss Carlos Ghosn, who later fled Japan concealed in an audio equipment box.A merger with Japanese rival Honda had been seen as a potential lifeline but talks collapsed in February when the latter proposed making Nissan a subsidiary.Of Japan’s major automakers, Nissan was seen by analysts as likely to be the most severely hit by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs on imported vehicles. 

Stock markets fell Thursday as traders digested a high-stakes meeting between the US and Chinese presidents, mixed company earnings and uncertainty over further US interest rate cuts.US President Donald Trump described his meeting in South Korea with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping — their first since 2019, during Trump’s first term — as “amazing”.The two leaders agreed to calm the US-China trade war that has roiled global markets, with Washington cutting some tariffs and Beijing committing to keep supplies of critical rare earths flowing.Stock market reactions were subdued, with Asian and European markets lower on Thursday. “Looking ahead, the main events today will be Apple and Amazon earnings, along with the ECB’s policy decision,” said Jim Reid, managing director at Deutsche Bank.The European Central Bank is expected to stand pat on interest rates, as inflation hovers around its target and the eurozone economy holds up. Data on Thursday showed the eurozone economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter of 2025. The Bank of Japan held interest rates steady on Thursday, after the US Federal Reserve delivered a second quarter-point rate cut. Fed chair Jerome Powell’s announcement, however, cast doubt on an additional cut in December, jolting US markets and lifting the value of the dollar on Wednesday.The Nasdaq later recovered, finishing at a fourth straight record after another gain by artificial intelligence giant Nvidia, which became the first company to reach a $5 trillion market value.US big tech companies were in focus again Thursday, following a mixed reaction to earnings reports from Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft after the Wall Street close.”These latest results highlight the business models of the big technology firms are becoming more capital intensive, as they build out their AI capabilities,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould. He added, however, that if AI fails to deliver revenue streams “the effect on share prices could be brutal.”Seoul’s stock market got a lift from tech giant Samsung Electronics posting a 32 percent rise in on-year third quarter profits, driven by AI-fuelled market demand for memory chips.In London, shares in energy giant Shell were flat after its net profit jumped in the third quarter. Advertising giant WPP led losses in London, dropping nearly 14 percent after it cut its annual outlook.Volkswagen shares fell more than one percent after its first quarterly loss for five years, topping one billion euros.Shares in auto giant Stellantis, whose brands include Jeep, Fiat and Peugeot, sank six percent despite rising sales as the group said it expects to incur charges in the second half of the year.Danish weight-loss drugmaker Novo Nordisk, owner of treatments Wegovy and Ozempic, saw its shares fall three percent after it launched a bidding war with US rival Pfizer for obesity treatment maker Metsera.- Key figures at around 1145 GMT -London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.6 percent at 9,700.08 pointsParis – CAC 40: DOWN 0.8 percent at 8,134.32Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.2 at 24,084.19Tokyo – Nikkei 225: FLAT at 51,325.61 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.2 percent at 26,282.69 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.7 percent at 3,986.90 (close)New York – Dow: DOWN 0.2 percent at 47,632.00 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1601 from $1.1595 on WednesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3176 from $1.3187Dollar/yen: UP at 154.04 yen from 152.82 yenEuro/pound: UP at 88.06 from 87.94 penceBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.5 percent at $63.97 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.5 percent at $60.16 per barrel

A rare meeting between leaders Donald Trump and Xi Jinping has succeeded in temporarily stabilising US-China relations, analysts said on Thursday, with the talks drawing cautious optimism on the streets of Beijing.A beaming Trump hailed the talks as a “great success”, while Xi said China had reached a “consensus” with the United States on trade and economic issues. Beijing and Washington have been locked in a blistering trade war, encompassing everything from rare earths to soybeans and port fees, which has rocked markets for months.”Although there hasn’t been a complete agreement, at least in the short term, there’s been a suspension of tariff increases,” 35-year-old media worker Yan told AFP outside a shopping mall in China’s capital. Dylan Loh from Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University said the meeting was “significant” because it tackled a range of both longstanding and newly emerged roadblocks in the trade relationship.”The conciliatory words used by both leaders are important, as they signal that there is room to steer the relationship back toward a more normal footing,” Loh told AFP.Both sides appear to have moved on key sticking points.A decision by China to suspend certain export restrictions on rare earths “did a lot of magic”, and Washington easing fentanyl-related tariffs “helps plenty too”, said Lim Tai Wei, professor and East Asia expert at Japan’s Soka University.Xi’s language with Trump struck a “notably constructive” tone, said Yue Su of the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).”While structural competition remains evident… both leaders appear willing to find common ground and stabilise the relationship,” Su told AFP.- Long-term concerns? -Beijing residents told AFP on Thursday they hoped to see a knock-on effect from the talks.Gym owner Ma Ning said she thought the meeting improved “very tense” relations between the two countries.”Good relations between the two sides are good for China,” the 30-year-old said, adding she hoped the meeting would improve China’s “sluggish economy”.Media worker Yan hoped to see the price of regular goods go down after the tariff reductions.But he worried Trump’s “unstable” personality might undermine longer-term solutions.While the outcomes from Thursday’s meeting were positive, analysts said there were “no surprises”, especially with the two leaders avoiding more sensitive topics.Trump said Taiwan, the self-ruled island that China claims as its territory, was not discussed.”By the time the two sides meet again, US-China negotiations will likely enter truly deep waters,” the EIU’s Su said.”Issues such as Taiwan, market access, and national security will test how much genuine willingness both sides have to pressure the other into making concessions on their own priorities.” Either country could also decide, at some point, to walk back on the specific decisions announced on Thursday.”There is the issue of one or both sides changing their minds or accusing the other side of not acting in good faith,” said Chong Ja Ian from the National University of Singapore.”We’ve seen this before… in recent years,” Chong told AFP. “Trump also appears to prefer negotiating and renegotiating to keep interlocutors on the back foot,” he said.

Asian stock markets fluctuated on Thursday after a high-stakes meeting between US and Chinese leaders that resulted in an agreement to alleviate frictions between the world’s two largest economies.US President Donald Trump described his meeting in South Korea with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping — their first since 2019, during Trump’s first term — as “amazing”.Xi said they had reached “consensus” on economic and trade issues, according to state media in Beijing.Stock market reactions were subdued, with Japan’s main benchmark closing flat following a widely expected central bank decision to hold interest rates steady.Shanghai and Sydney closed with moderate drops, while Hong Kong rallied from an afternoon fall to finish just slightly lower on the day.Seoul finished slightly up, helped partly by tech giant Samsung Electronics posting a 32 percent rise in on-year third quarter profits and strong automotive gains.Taipei finished the day largely flat.The meeting between Trump and Xi came after days of a tech-fuelled bull run in global markets, boosted further by an interest rate cut in the United States, confirmed on Wednesday by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.However, Powell’s announcement also cast doubt on an additional cut in December, jolting US markets and lifting the value of the dollar.The Nasdaq later recovered, finishing at a fourth straight record after another gain by artificial intelligence giant Nvidia, which became the first company to reach a $5 trillion market value.Attention had been laser-focused on the Xi-Trump meeting in the South Korean city of Busan.Trump said the talks yielded an extendable one-year deal on China’s supply of crucial rare earths, materials that are essential for sophisticated electronic components across a range of industries.He said tariffs imposed over China’s export of chemicals used to make the deadly drug fentanyl would be reduced to 10 percent — bringing overall US tariffs on Chinese goods to 47 percent.Trump also said China had agreed to purchase “tremendous” amounts of soybeans, as well as other farm products.Xi urged teams from the two countries to “finalise follow-up work as soon as possible”, calling for “tangible results to set minds at ease about the economies of China, the United States and the world”, state news agency Xinhua said.Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics said: “The reversal of some US tariffs on China won’t have a big impact given that Chinese exporters had largely shrugged them off.””But the de-escalation takes the immediate threat of large tariff hikes off the table, removing a key downside risk to the near-term outlook,” he wrote in a note.London and Paris dropped at the start of trading in Europe, while Frankfurt’s main benchmark was up slightly.- Key figures at around 0830 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: FLAT at 51,325.61 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.2 percent at 26,282.69 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.7 percent at 3,986.90 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.4 percent at 9,718.65West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.7 percent at $60.07 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.7 percent at $64.48 per barrelEuro/dollar: UP at $1.1613 from $1.1595 on WednesdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3193 from $1.3187Dollar/yen: UP at 153.82 yen from 152.82 yenEuro/pound: UP at 88.02 from 87.94 penceNew York – Dow: DOWN 0.2 percent at 47,632.00 (close)

Donald Trump and Xi Jinping agreed on Thursday to calm the trade war between China and the United States that has roiled global markets, with Washington cutting some tariffs and Beijing committing to keep supplies of critical rare earths flowing.Trump called his first meeting with Xi in six years a “great success”, while the Chinese leader said the two reached an “important consensus” towards solving the fight between the world’s two top economies.”I thought it was an amazing meeting,” Trump said after the talks in Busan, South Korea, praising Xi as a “tremendous leader of a very powerful country” and saying he would visit China in April.Trump added that the deal included China immediately buying “tremendous amounts of soybeans and other farm products”, a key issue for Trump’s support in farm country and a point of leverage for Beijing.The US leader said the talks yielded an extendable one-year deal on China’s supply of crucial rare earths, materials that are essential for sophisticated electronic components across a range of industries.Beijing’s commerce ministry also confirmed it would suspend for one year certain export restrictions, including on rare earth materials, a sector where China is hugely dominant.”All the rare earths has been settled, and that’s for the world,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.Xi said a “consensus” had been reached and urged “follow-up work as soon as possible”.Trump added that the Chinese leader had also agreed to “work very hard to stop the flow” of deadly opioid fentanyl, a trade in which Washington has accused Beijing of being complicit.”I put a 20-percent tariff on China because of the fentanyl coming in… and based on his statements today I am going to reduce that by 10 percent,” Trump said.And in social media post after leaving South Korea, Trump declared “Our Farmers will be very happy!” with the outcomes of the talks.The former reality TV star went on to say in the post that Beijing would “begin the process of purchasing American Energy”, potentially involving oil and gas from Alaska.Officials from the United States and China would meet to hash out that “energy deal”, he added.- ‘Partners and friends’ -Neither leader made any public comments immediately after the talks, which lasted around an hour and 40 minutes.Trump headed straight to Air Force One, waving and pumping his fist as he boarded the plane. The jet took off minutes later.Xi was seen getting into his limousine outside the closed-door meeting.Xi acknowledged before the meeting began in earnest that both sides did not always see eye to eye, but should strive to be “partners and friends”.”China and the US can jointly shoulder our responsibility as major countries and work together to accomplish more great and concrete things for the good of our two countries and the whole world,” said Xi.Sitting opposite each other, each leader was flanked by senior officials including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury chief Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.Xi’s team, which arrived from Beijing shortly before — the US side was already in South Korea — included Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and Vice Premier He Lifeng.- Crowning achievement -The meeting took place on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit of 21 countries in Gyeongju including the leaders of Japan, Australia and Canada.It was the final stop on an Asia tour that saw Trump, 79, showered with praise and gifts, including a replica of an ancient Korean golden crown.In Japan, new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said she would nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize and gave him a putter and a gold-plated golf ball.However, Trump’s hopes of a re-run of his 2019 meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the Demilitarized Zone frontier were dashed.Trump said though that they would meet in the “not too distant future” and that he would like to “straighten out” tensions between North and South Korea.One surprise in the talks could have been if Xi had brought up Taiwan, with speculation that Beijing might press Trump to water down US backing for the self-ruled island.But Trump said that Taiwan “never came up. That was not discussed actually.”burs-stu-oho/jm

The Bank of Japan kept interest rates on hold Thursday at 0.5 percent, warning of lingering economic “high uncertainties” linked to US trade tariffs.The decision, expected by economists, came after the first monetary policy meeting since Sanae Takaichi became Japan’s new premier last week.She is widely seen as in favour of monetary easing and active fiscal spending to boost the economy. “High uncertainties still remain regarding the impact of trade and other policies on economic activity and prices at home and abroad,” the BoJ said in a statement following the decision.The announcement also came after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told his Japanese counterpart about the importance of “anchoring inflation expectations”. Bessent visited Tokyo along with US President Donald Trump, who was meeting Takaichi face-to-face for the first time.BoJ governor Kazuo Ueda shrugged off any pressure from Bessent, telling reporters after the policy decision: “We will calmly implement appropriate monetary policies based on the economic and price outlook and the degree of certainty regarding that outlook.”Stephen Innes, managing partner of SPI Asset Management, said the “message was clear” from the rate decision.”Japan’s balance sheet can no longer afford the distortions of ultra-low rates, and the global system can no longer run on the assumption that the yen will always absorb excess liquidity,” he said.Marcel Thieliant, head of Asia-Pacific for Capital Economics, said in a note that “crucially, there are few signs that the Bank is becoming less concerned about the impact of higher tariffs”. “The Bank still sees a risk that lower profits could result in a slowdown in wage growth as firms put more effort on cost-cutting,” he said, predicting that the next rate hike will come in January.- Rate pause -Officials began hiking rates from below zero in March last year as figures signalled an end to the country’s “lost decades” of stagnation, with inflation surging.However, with worries about the global outlook and US tariffs growing, the bank paused its tightening measures at the start of 2025, with the last increase in January, taking rates to their highest level in 17 years.”The reason for maintaining the interest rate is the uncertainty surrounding the overseas economy, particularly the US economy, and global trade policy trends,” Ueda said.”We would like to observe more data” including annual union negotiations over pay starting early next year, as corporate revenues may be affected by US tariffs, he said.He declined to comment on the timing and the size of the next rate hike.The yen weakened against the dollar after the BoJ decision, which was carried by seven votes to two.Takaichi, 64, an acolyte of former premier Shinzo Abe, has advocated her mentor’s “Abenomics” policies, including massive monetary easing and active fiscal spending.Her ministers, however, said the BoJ has independence in its monetary decisions.

US President Donald Trump called the meeting Thursday with China’s Xi Jinping a “great success”, after the world’s top two economies agreed a deal to trim fentanyl-related tariffs and keep supplies of critical rare earths flowing.There was no immediate comment from the Chinese government after what was the leaders’ first face-to-face meeting since 2019 and a key point in their trade battle that has rattled markets and snarled supply chains.”I thought it was an amazing meeting,” Trump said after the talks in Busan, South Korea, praising Xi as a “tremendous leader of a very powerful country” and saying he would visit China in April.Trump added that the deal included China immediately buying “tremendous amounts of soybeans and other farm products”, a key issue for Trump’s support in farm country and a point of leverage for Beijing.The US leader said the talks yielded an extendable one-year deal on China’s supply of crucial rare earths, materials that are essential for sophisticated electronic components across a range of industries.”All the rare earths has been settled, and that’s for the world,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.Beijing had announced in early October additional controls on the export of rare earths, a sector where China is hugely dominant.”On fentanyl we agreed that he was going to work very hard to stop the flow… I put a 20-percent tariff on China because of the fentanyl coming in… and based on his statements today I am going to reduce that by 10 percent,” Trump said.- Nuclear testing -Neither leader made any public comments immediately after the talks, which lasted around an hour and 40 minutes.Trump headed straight to Air Force One, waving and pumping his fist as he boarded the plane. The jet took off minutes later.Xi was seen getting into his limousine outside the closed-door meeting.Xi acknowledged before the meeting began in earnest that both sides did not always see eye to eye, but should strive to be “partners and friends”.”China and the US can jointly shoulder our responsibility as major countries and work together to accomplish more great and concrete things for the good of our two countries and the whole world,” said Xi.Sitting opposite each other, each leader was flanked by senior officials including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury chief Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.Xi’s team, which arrived from Beijing shortly before — the US side was already in South Korea — included Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and Vice Premier He Lifeng.- Nuclear testing -Minutes before meeting Xi, Trump wrote on Truth Social that “because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis”.Trump added that in terms of nuclear weapons stockpiles, China was a “distant third” behind the United States and Russia “but will be even in 5 years”.The comments came a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow had successfully tested a nuclear-capable, nuclear-powered underwater drone, in defiance of US warnings.It was not immediately clear if Trump was referring to doing test nuclear explosions, something the United States last did in 1992, or testing weapons capable of carrying atomic warheads.- Crowning achievement -The meeting took place on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit of 21 countries in Gyeongju including the leaders of Japan, Australia and Canada.It is the final stop on an Asia tour that saw Trump, 79, showered with praise and gifts, including a replica of an ancient Korean golden crown.In Japan, new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said she would nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize and gave him a putter and a gold-plated golf ball.However, Trump’s hopes of a re-run of his 2019 meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the Demilitarized Zone frontier appear to have dashed.Trump said though that they would meet in the “not too distant future” and that he would like to “straighten out” tensions between North and South Korea.On Thursday, he hailed the military alliance with South Korea as “stronger than ever” and said he had given the green-light for Seoul to build a nuclear powered submarine.One surprise in the talks could have been if Xi had brought up Taiwan, with speculation that Beijing might press Trump to water down US backing for the self-ruled island.Since 1979, Washington has recognised Beijing over Taipei as the sole legitimate Chinese power, even though the United States remains Taiwan’s most powerful ally and its main arms supplier.But Trump said that Taiwan “never came up. That was not discussed actually.”The US president added though that he and Xi agreed to “work together” on the issue of Ukraine.burs-stu/jm

US President Donald Trump and China’s leader Xi Jinping opened on Thursday their first face-to-face meeting in six years, seeking a truce to end a trade war that has roiled the world economy.The US president, who minutes before said he has ordered the Pentagon to start nuclear weapons testing on a level with China and Russia, complimented a smiling Xi as a “very tough negotiator” as they shook hands.”We’ll have a great understanding,” Trump said in Busan, South Korea, predicting a “fantastic relationship for a long period of time”.Xi acknowledged that both sides did not always see eye to eye, but should strive to be “partners and friends”.”China and the US can jointly shoulder our responsibility as major countries and work together to accomplish more great and concrete things for the good of our two countries and the whole world,” said Xi.Sitting opposite each other each leader was flanked by senior officials including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury chief Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.Xi’s team, which arrived from Beijing shortly before — the US side was already in South Korea — included Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and Vice Premier He Lifeng.The US leader’s latest missive on nuclear weapons testing broadened the stakes for his talks with Xi.– ‘Even in five years’ –Minutes before meeting Xi, Trump wrote on Truth Social that “because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis”.Trump added that in terms of nuclear weapons stockpiles, China was a “distant third” behind the United States and Russia “but will be even in 5 years”.The comments came a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow had successfully tested a nuclear-capable, nuclear-powered underwater drone, in defiance of US warnings.Trump did not provide details or respond to a question from a journalist about his surprising nuclear announcement before the crucial meeting with Xi.The world’s two top economies’ trade tussle — encompassing everything from rare earths to soybeans and port fees — has rocked markets and gummed up supply chains for months.Following productive preparatory talks by top officials, Trump said on Wednesday on his way to South Korea that “a lot of problems are going to be solved” in a “great meeting”.Trump indicated that the agreement would include lowering 20 percent tariffs on Chinese goods related to fentanyl, which has killed tens of thousands of Americans.Of particular importance to Trump — with an eye on US farmers — is whether China will resume purchases of American soybeans.Another major issue is export controls on rare earths announced by Beijing this month that prompted Trump to call the Xi summit into question.Beijing holds a virtual monopoly on these materials, which are essential for sophisticated electronic components across a range of industries.”The easiest wins could include removing port fees for ships or lifting some fentanyl-related tariffs, which fall fully under presidential authority. China, in turn, could agree to purchase more US commodities to show goodwill,” Yue Su at The Economist Intelligence Unit told AFP.- Crowning achievement -The meeting is taking place on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit of 21 countries in Gyeongju including the leaders of Japan, Australia and Canada.It is the final stop on an Asia tour that saw Trump showered with praise and gifts, including a replica of an ancient Korean golden crown.In Japan, new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said she would nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize and gave him a putter and a gold-plated golf ball.However, Trump’s hopes of a re-run of his 2019 meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the Demilitarized Zone frontier appear to have dashed.Trump said though that they would meet in the “not too distant future” and that he would like to “straighten out” tensions between North and South Korea.On Thursday, he hailed the military alliance with South Korea as “stronger than ever” and said he had given the green-light for Seoul to build a nuclear powered submarine.One surprise in the talks could be if Xi brings up Taiwan, with speculation that Beijing might press Trump to water down US backing for the self-ruled island.Since 1979, Washington has recognised Beijing over Taipei as the sole legitimate Chinese power, even though the United States remains Taiwan’s most powerful ally and its main arms supplier.burs-stu/hmn

Asian stocks were subdued Thursday morning, with investors closely watching talks between the leaders of the United States and China for potential breakthroughs to defuse a damaging trade war.Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping met for the first time since 2019 in Busan, South Korea, engaging in high-stakes talks about the relationship between the world’s top two economies.The meeting comes after days of a tech-fuelled bull run in global markets, boosted further by an interest rate cut in the United States, confirmed Wednesday by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.But Powell’s announcement also cast doubt on an additional cut in December, jolting US markets and lifting the value of the dollar.The Nasdaq later recovered, finishing at a fourth straight record after another gain by artificial intelligence giant Nvidia, which became the first company to reach a $5 trillion market value.A “cautious reaction” is expected in Asia, wrote Lorraine Tan, director of equity research for the region at Morningstar, in a note.”The decline in US rates provides more flexibility to the Asian central banks to lower if they want to as there may be some pressure on the USD,” she said.Main benchmarks were nearly flat during Thursday morning trading in Tokyo, Shanghai and Sydney.Hong Kong — back from Wednesday’s public holiday — and Taipei tracked moderate gains.Stocks in Seoul surged by more than one percent, helped partly by tech giant Samsung Electronics posting a 32 percent rise in profits on-year for the third quarter and strong automotive gains.Attention is now laser-focused on talks between Trump and Xi, which began with a handshake and friendly greetings before closed-door discussions between the two sides’ delegations.Before the talks kicked off in earnest, Xi said the the two countries “should be partners and friends”, while Trump said they would have a “fantastic relationship for a long time”.Markets have been boosted by comments this week by Trump expressing confidence that a sweeping deal can be struck with Beijing.Among the key issues that could be discussed are the supply of rare earth minerals — a strategic sector currently dominated by China — competition over artificial intelligence and computer chips and geopolitical hotspots, including Ukraine and Taiwan.- Key figures at around 0230 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.1 percent at 51,368.71Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.5 percent at 26,475.53Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.2 percent at 4,009.86West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.6 percent at $60.09 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.6 percent at $64.53 per barrelEuro/dollar: UP at $1.1615 from $1.1595 on WednesdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3205 from $1.3187Dollar/yen: DOWN at 152.49 yen from 152.82 yenEuro/pound: UP at 87.96 from 87.94 penceNew York – Dow: DOWN 0.2 percent at 47,632.00 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 9,756.14 (close)