Asian Shares Muted As Trade Worries Persist

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks ended mixed in lackluster trading on Friday despite the leaders of the U.S. and China agreeing to further talks aimed at reaching a deal.

U.S. President Donald Trump described a phone call with his Chinese counterpart as "very good" and said it "resulted in a very positive conclusion for both countries."

Traders also reacted to a hawkish ECB rate cut and braced for a soft U.S. employment report later in the day for additional clues on the Fed's rate trajectory.

Economists expect U.S. employment to increase by 130,000 jobs in May after an increase of 177,000 jobs in April. The unemployment rate is expected to hold at 4.2 percent.

Gold prices inched higher in Asian trade and headed for a weekly gain as the U.S. dollar faced a weekly loss amid signs of economic weakness and stalled trade talks. Oil dipped but headed for its first weekly gain in three as optimism over peak seasonal demand offset lingering concerns about oversupply.

China's Shanghai Composite index finished marginally higher at 3,385.36 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.48 percent to 23,792.54 as Trump's phone call left key issues unresolved.

Japanese markets rose on a weaker yen and due to increased demand for the index futures ahead of the June 13 fixing of special quotation prices.

The Nikkei average gained half a percent to close at 37,741.61 as Japan and the U.S. continue trade negotiations toward a win-win deal. The broader Topix index settled 0.47 percent higher at 2,769.33.

Tech heavyweights Advantest and Tokyo Electron climbed 2.2 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively. Automakers Honda and Nissan both rose around 1.3 percent.

Investors shrugged off data that showed Japan's exports fell in the first 20 days of May due to tariff woes.

South Korean markets remained closed for a public holiday. Australian markets ended slightly lower in choppy trade, dragged down by tech stocks, miners and financials.

The benchmark S&P/ ASX 200 slid 0.27 percent to 8,515.70 while the broader All Ordinaries index closed 0.30 percent lower at 8,741.90.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index ended down 0.11 percent at 12,563.48.

U.S. stocks fluctuated before ending in the red overnight as investors weighed potential progress in U.S.-China trade talks against another round of downbeat economic data.

China and the U.S. have agreed to more tariff talks amid a trade standoff and concerns over rare earths, President Donald Trump said after speaking to Xi Jinping over the phone.

In economic news, weekly jobless claims hit a seven-month high, while a record drop in imports resulted in the narrowest U.S. trade gap since November 2023.

Fed policymakers indicated on Thursday that inflation remains a greater concern than labor market cooling, suggesting a prolonged hold on monetary policy adjustments.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.8 percent, the S&P 500 gave up half a percent and the narrowed Dow closed 0.3 percent lower.