Investing.com - Asian stocks were mixed in morning trade on Friday. The Nikkei 225 rose as officials from Japan prepared to have trade talks with their U.S. counterparts next week.
China’s Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Component were down 0.4% and 0.3% by 10:45 PM ET (02:45 GMT). Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 0.2%.
China’s trade balance data, due 02:30 ET (06:00 GMT), is expected to be in focus later in the day.
China-U.S. trade negotiations continued this week. The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that Beijing has agreed to open up its cloud-computer sector to foreign companies in an attempt to forge a trade deal with the U.S. The two sides are still trying to iron out some remaining differences before reaching a trade agreement, earlier reports suggested.
The news came one day after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC in an interview that the two sides have made progress on a trade deal, and that they have agreed on “an enforcement mechanism” to police any agreement they reach.
“We’ve agreed that both sides will establish enforcement offices that will deal with the ongoing matters,” Mnuchin said, adding that the meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He on Tuesday was “productive.”
Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.5%.
Earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump had threatened to impose levies of as much as 25% on all imported cars, including those made in Japan.
“Japan is now negotiating,” Trump told reporters last month. “They haven’t wanted to negotiate for many years, but now they’re negotiating. It’s called ‘tariffs.’”
Meanwhile, South Korea’s KOSPI edged up 0.1%.
Down under, Australia’s ASX 200 rose 0.7%.