Asian equities stand still amid fears over trade and growth

On Wednesday, Asian equities stood still due to the fact that worries over the outlook for global economic surge as well as the everlasting China-US trade clash kept market participants away from risky assets.

Spreadbetters actually expected EU equities to start lower, with Germany’s DAX diving by 0.2%, France’s CAC 40 decreasing by 0,4%, and Britain’s FTSE tumbling by 0,3%.

Additionally, MSCI's index of Asia-Pacific equities decreased by 0.15%, treading water after soaring to a seven-week maximum on Monday.

As for the Shanghai Composite Index, it decreased by 0.15%.

Meanwhile, Australian equities went down by 0.25%, while Japan's Nikkei slipped by nearly 0.1%.

In addition to this, on Tuesday, the Nasdaq, the Dow, and the S&P 500 all reported their greatest one-day percentage tumbles since January 3.

Following an abrupt dive in December, American equities managed to gain through much of January, backed by hopes for a progress in US-China trade talks as well as a more dovish-sounding US major bank. It also helped global traders to opt for riskier assets.

Another factor affecting market sentiment was a report by the Financial Times that the current US presidential administration had neglected an offer from China for preparatory trade negotiations this week ahead of high-level talks expected to take place next week.

Larry Kudlow, White House economic adviser denied the report, thus assisting American equities in paring some losses, although the fresh worries about China-US relations kept stock prices in check.

Besides this, recently published data all indicated a tough year ahead for the global economy.

In December, American home sales went down by 6.4%, falling short of the most pessimistic estimate, to their lowest outcome for three years. In contrast with 2017, they tumbled over 10% for the first time since 2011.

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