Investing.com - Asian markets rose in morning trade on Monday. Australian stocks inched up amid positive trade news.
The S&P/ASX 200 traded 0.2% higher by 10:45 PM ET (02:45 GMT). Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met on Sunday in Thailand and said the two nations will try and repair their bilateral relationship.
"I feel very strongly and committed to improving that relationship and ensuring we realise its full potential," Morrison told Li ahead of the meeting.
On the data front, Australian retail sales inched up 0.2% in September after a 0.4% gain in August, figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed on Monday. Analysts had expected an increase of 0.5%.
The ABS also showed the country’s job advertisements in newspapers and on the internet fell 1% in October, which is the lowest level in more than 2-1/2 years.
China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.8% while the Shenzhen Component rose 1.0%.
On the weekend, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross expressed optimism the U.S. would reach a “Phase One” trade deal with China this month.
“We’re in good shape, we’re making good progress, and there’s no natural reason why it couldn’t be,” Ross told Bloomberg in an interview on Sunday.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump noted that the deal would signed in the U.S.
Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping had been expected to ink the agreement at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Santiago, Chile from Nov. 16-17, but those plans were thrown into disarray on Wednesday when Chile withdrew as host of the meeting.
Ross added that American companies will receive licenses “very shortly” for to sell components to Huawei Technologies Co.
The Chinese telecom giant was placed on the Commerce Department’s entity list in May and was forbidden to buy American hardwares.
On the other hand, China’s state media reiterated that the removal of all additional tariffs is a “core concern that has not changed and will never change.”
Taoran Notes, a blog affiliated with state-run Economic Daily, wrote that “even if there is a first phase deal, this core concern should be reflected.”
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 1.4%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was closed for a market holiday.
South Korea’s KOSPI jumped 1.1%.