At a three-hour meeting on Nov. 15, the two leaders dialed down some of the heat in Sino-U.S. tensions, though both sides held to entrenched positions on a range of issues. The positive tone offered a slight boost to Asian shares on Nov. 16, but this proved short-lived.
In Asian trading on Nov. 17, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index lost 0.4 percent. The benchmark reversed earlier gains that had come on the yen trading lower recently, boosting the profits of exporters.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan skidded 0.5 percent from Tuesday’s near three-week closing high and was set for its biggest fall this month, snapping seven days of gains.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.3 percent while Seoul’s Kospi fell 1.2 percent and the S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney edged 0.7 percent lower.
In Europe, France’s CAC 40 inched up nearly 0.1 percent to 7,157.55 in early trading, while Germany’s DAX edged up 0.2 percent to 16,276.37. Britain’s FTSE 100 dipped 0.1 percent to 7,319.95.
Wall Street equities closed higher as investors took heart from better-than-expected retail data—solid earnings reports from big retailers and a surprisingly strong report on consumer spending.
Companies have been raising prices as they face higher raw materials costs and supply chain problems. Consumers have been willing to pay more. Investors also received another encouraging update from the Federal Reserve that industrial production rebounded in October with a 1.6 percent gain, following a 1.3 percent plunge in September.
“It reiterates the strength of the U.S. consumer, but you have to wonder a bit as inflation expectations rise, are people rushing to get in front of that,” said Mike Stritch, chief investment officer at BMO Wealth Management.
The S&P 500 index rose 0.4 percent, to 4,700.90 and is sitting just below the record it set on Nov. 8. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2 percent, to 36,142.22. The Nasdaq rose 0.8 percent to 15,973.86.
