Asian markets in mixed territory such as the NAFTA talks remain under focus

Asian markets in mixed territory such as the NAFTA talks remain under focus

Asian markets were trading in a mixed zone on Wednesday morning after Wall Street continued its gains overnight.

The Nikkei 225 Average rose 0.68 percent in early trade, with the freight sector continuing to rise 2.52 percent. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.17 percent.

The ASX 200 index rose 0.38 percent after trading heavily earlier. Building materials and construction products rose 8.26 percent on news that its full-year net profit rose 48.5 percent to $ 441 million ($ 324 million).

During the night, the S & P 500 continued its gains to close at a new record high of 2897.52 after crossing the 2900 mark earlier in the day for the first time. The NASDAQ Composite, which also saw another all-time high, rose 0.1 percent to 8030.00. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 14.38 points to 26,064.00.

The moves came in the United States as Canadian Foreign Minister Christina Freeland headed to Washington on Tuesday to resume negotiations on the future of NAFTA, a day after the United States and Mexico announced they had agreed on a new trade deal.

The USD index, which measures the US currency versus a basket of currencies, has not changed significantly at 94.77 from 9:55 am HKST/ SIN.

The Japanese yen remained broadly flat against the dollar at 111.22 yen while the Australian dollar traded at $ 0.7337 at 9:54 am HKST / SIN.

“Markets reflect very low interest rates that support asset prices, and they are certainly making good profits in some parts,” said William Lo, head of global equities at Nikko Asset Management Europe, in an interview with Bloomberg.