Asian Shares Rise After Trump's China Comments

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks rose broadly on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump said during an interview that his recent conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping was friendly and that he would rather not impose tariffs on China, suggesting a potentially softer stance on tariffs against the country.

Gold hovered near record highs in Asian trade as the dollar weakened on Trump's call for immediate interest rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Oil struggled for direction after Trump said that lower oil prices could end war in Ukraine immediately and he would ask Saudi Arabia and OPEC to bring down the cost of oil.

China's Shanghai Composite index climbed 0.70 percent to 3,252.63 after the China Securities Regulatory Commission said that mutual funds should increase holdings of onshore stocks by at least 10 percent annually for the next three years, while large state-owned insurers will need to invest 30 percent of their new policy premiums into share markets beginning this year.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng surged 1.86 percent to 20,066.19, lifted by tech stocks like Tencent and Baidu.

Japanese markets surrendered early gains to end on a flat note as the Bank of Japan hiked the short-term rate target by 25 basis points as expected and new data showed core inflation rose last month at the fastest pace in 16 months.

The yen gained and bond yields rose as the central bank raised its interest rates to their highest since the 2008 global financial crisis, revised up its inflation guidance and signaled more increases to come if GDP and price growth hit forecasts. The Nikkei average and the broader Topix index both finished marginally lower at 39,931.98 and 2,751.04, respectively.

Shares of Mitsubishi Motors plunged 6.9 percent after reports emerged that the company won't be a part of Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co.'s plans to combine their companies under a holding company.

Seoul stocks rose notably, with the Kospi average finishing up 0.85 percent at 2,536.80. Korea Zinc jumped 11.6 percent after its Chairman Choi Yun-beom retained control of the company during a shareholders' meeting on Jan. 23.

Australian markets eked out modest gains to close just shy of a record high ahead of a long weekend. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose by 0.36 percent to 8,408.90, led by consumer discretionary stocks.

The broader All Ordinaries index settled 0.36 percent higher at 8,660.40. Premier Investments surged 6.6 percent after its historic deal with Myer on Thursday.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index dropped 0.27 percent to 13,024.70.

U.S. stocks scored their fourth straight day of gains overnight as investors reacted to a mixed bag of corporate earnings and comments from Trump at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Trump warned global business leaders they will face tariffs for products made outside of the U.S.

Trump also said he would press the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates "immediately," and ask OPEC and Saudi Arabia to bring down the price of oil.

The S&P 500 rose half a percent to reach a new record closing high while the Dow climbed 0.9 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 0.2 percent.