By Marketwatch

Reuters
Asian markets were mixed in early trading Tuesday, after the U.S. said China is no longer a currency manipulator ahead of the signing of a “phase one” trade agreement this week.
The U.S. Treasury Department stepped back from the decision it made last year, saying in a statement that it “has determined that China should no longer be designated as a currency manipulator at this time.”
The U.S. and China are expected to sign a “phase one” trade deal Wednesday in Washington, which the Treasury Department said will include enforceable commitments by China to refrain from currency devaluation and not target its exchange rate for competitive purposes.
“Investors’ unquenchable appetite for stocks is in hyperdrive, triggered by a further thawing in U.S.-China trade tension,” Stephen Innes, chief Asia market strategist for AxiTrader, wrote in a note.
Japan’s Nikkei /zigman2/quotes/210597971/delayed JP:NIK -0.91% gained 0.7% as traders returned from a holiday Monday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index /zigman2/quotes/210598030/delayed HK:HSI +0.73% gave up early gains and was last down about 0.2%, while the Shanghai Composite /zigman2/quotes/210598127/delayed CN:SHCOMP +0.39% was about flat and the Shenzhen Composite /zigman2/quotes/210598015/delayed CN:399106 +1.00% dipped slightly after data showed China’s exports rose 5% in 2019 on yuan terms, the slowest growth in three years. South Korea’s Kospi /zigman2/quotes/210598069/delayed KR:180721 -0.31% rose 0.4%, while benchmark indexes in Taiwan /zigman2/quotes/210597977/delayed TW:Y9999 -0.10% , Singapore /zigman2/quotes/210597985/delayed SG:STI -0.31% , Malaysia /zigman2/quotes/210598052/delayed MY:FBMKLCI -0.27% and Indonesia /zigman2/quotes/210597981/delayed ID:JAKIDX +0.16% were mostly positive. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 /zigman2/quotes/210598100/delayed AU:XJO -0.89% advanced 0.7%.
Among individual stocks, Sony /zigman2/quotes/201361720/delayed JP:6758 -1.26% Fast Retailing /zigman2/quotes/200663563/delayed JP:9983 -0.90% and SoftBank /zigman2/quotes/207303954/delayed JP:9984 -1.63% advanced in Tokyo trading, while Nissan /zigman2/quotes/208298710/delayed JP:7201 -1.46% sank. In Hong Kong, casino operators Galaxy Entertainment /zigman2/quotes/202884203/delayed HK:27 +0.20% and Sands China /zigman2/quotes/207609245/delayed HK:1928 +0.20% rose, while AAC /zigman2/quotes/201441510/delayed HK:2018 +1.07% and Geely Automobile /zigman2/quotes/200716015/delayed HK:175 +0.85% fell. LG Electronics /zigman2/quotes/209966407/delayed KR:066570 -0.29% and SK Hynix /zigman2/quotes/206420319/delayed KR:000660 -0.26% advanced in South Korea, and Taiwan Semiconductor /zigman2/quotes/207385621/delayed TW:2330 -0.57% gained in Taiwan. Beach Energy /zigman2/quotes/200513631/delayed AU:BPT -0.77% and Rio Tinto /zigman2/quotes/200083756/delayed AU:RIO -1.97% rose in Australia.
On Monday, the S&P 500 index /zigman2/quotes/210599714/realtime SPX -1.64% rose 22.78 points, or 0.7%, to 3,288.13. The Nasdaq composite /zigman2/quotes/210598365/realtime COMP -1.82% climbed 95.07 points, or 1%, to 9,273.93, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average /zigman2/quotes/210598065/realtime DJIA -1.08% gained 83.28 points, or 0.3%, to 28,907.05.
Benchmark crude oil rose 13 cents to $58.21 a barrel, after falling 96 cents to $58.08 a barrel on Monday. Brent crude oil , the international standard, rose 19 cents to $64.39 a barrel.
The dollar /zigman2/quotes/210561789/realtime/sampled USDJPY +0.1098% rose to 110.09 Japanese yen from 109.89 yen on Monday.

































































