Asian stocks closed in green on Tuesday after Chinese President Xi Jinping promised to lower import tariffs on products including cars and take other steps to further open the world's second-largest economy, helping soothe investors' jitters over an escalating trade conflict with the United States. Chinese shares ended higher after Xi sought to defuse trade tensions with the US by lifting limits of foreign investment in automobile and aircraft industries. Japanese shares surged, led by automakers after Xi said his government would ‘significantly lower’ tariffs on vehicle imports this year and raise the foreign ownership limit in the automobile sector ‘as soon as possible’. On the data front, Japan's consumer confidence held steady at the end of the first quarter, survey data from Cabinet Office showed. The seasonally adjusted consumer confidence index came in at 44.3 in March, unchanged from February.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 3,190.32 | 52.03 | 1.66 |
Hang Seng | 30,728.74 | 499.16 | 1.65 |
Jakarta Composite | 6,325.82 | 79.69 | 1.28 |
KLSE Composite | 1,860.98 | 11.27 | 0.61 |
Nikkei 225 | 21,794.32 | 116.06 | 0.54 |
Straits Times | 3,466.38 | 16.42 | 0.48 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,450.74 | 6.66 | 0.27 |
Taiwan Weighted | 10,927.18 | 33.65 | 0.31 |
