Asian shares mostly higher amid trade conflict uncertainty

Yuri Kageyama, The Associated Press</span>
Published Friday, June 29, 2018 5:52AM EDT

TOKYO - Asian shares were mostly higher Friday as investors weighed how trade tensions between the U.S. and other nations might escalate.

KEEPING SCORE: Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 edged nearly 0.2 per cent higher to finish at 22,304.51, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.3 per cent to 6,194.60. South Korea's Kospi advanced 0.5 per cent to 2,326.13. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 1.5 per cent to 28,931.54, while the Shanghai Composite index rose 2.2 per cent to 2,847.42.

WALL STREET: The S&P 500 index added 0.6 per cent to 2,716.31. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4 per cent to 24,216.05 and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.8 per cent to 7,503.68. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks picked up 0.3 per cent to 1,645.02.

TRADE WORRIES: President Donald Trump's threat of tariff hikes on up to $450 billion of Chinese products reflects fears Beijing's plans are a threat to American technological leadership and prosperity. That has triggered global worries about how the curtailing of free trade might hurt economies and industrial sectors, but markets are still unsure of what the impact might be.

THE QUOTE: "Risk sentiment has firmed noticeably on the dearth of new headlines surrounding trade tensions," says Chang Wei Liang at Mizuho Bank in Singapore.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude fell 15 cents to $73.30. It gained 0.9 per cent to $73.45 a barrel in New York overnight. Brent crude, used to price international oils, fell 1 cent to $77.60 a barrel.

CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 110.64 yen from 110.50 yen late Thursday. The euro climbed to $1.1638 from $1.1567.

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