Investing.com - Asian markets traded mostly higher in morning trade on Wednesday. China’s weaker-than-expected industrial profit data received some focus.
The Shanghai Composite inched up 0.1% by 10:30 PM (02:30 GMT), while the Shenzhen Component lost 0.4%
The country's Industrial profit fell 9.9% in October year-on-year to 427.56 billion yuan ($60.74 billion), data released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Wednesday.
It was the biggest decline since January-February period and compared with a 5.3% decline in September.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.2%. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (HK:9988) continued its upward trend as they gained more than 1% following a blockbuster debut on Tuesday.
Although not a directional driver, Sino-U.S. trade talks showed signs of progress as U.S. President Donald Trump said overnight that Washington and Beijing are in the “final throes of a very important deal.”
“I’m holding it up because it’s got to be a good deal,” he said in an interview with Fox News. “We can’t make a deal that’s like, even. We have to make a deal where we do much better, because we have to catch up.”
China’s Ministry of Commerce said negotiators from the two sides held another phone call yesterday to discuss how to “resolve core issues.”
The Nikkei 225 traded 0.3% higher. It rose 16.1% from a low of 20,261.04 in August to a peak at 23,520.01 earlier this month.
A strong recovery in Japanese corporate earnings will drive stocks higher, UBS, Morgan Stanley and Nomura predicted.
“Japanese stocks have been shown to have a strong cyclical flavor, and appear likely to come into their own as expectations rise for a global economic recovery,” Nomura analysts wrote in a report earlier this month.
South Korea’s KOSPI advanced 0.4%.
Down under, Australia’s ASX 200 gained 0.6%.