SYDNEY – Asian shares lumbered lower on Wednesday as the Chinese and the United States’ (US) trade talks produced nothing but a stream of conflicting messages, while concerns about a glut of supply saw oil prices suffer their biggest spill in seven weeks.
Figures from the American Petroleum Institute out late Tuesday showed a far larger rise in crude stocks than expected. That followed reports Russia was unlikely to deepen its cuts to crude output.
Brent crude futures stood at $60.91 a barrel early on Wednesday, after sliding 2.6 percent overnight, while US crude recouped a single cent to $55.22.
Action in share markets was subdued with MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan off 0.25 percent. Japan’s Nikkei eased 0.2 percent and South Korea 0.4%. E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 lost 0.1 percent.
Hopes for progress on the US-China dispute had risen on Tuesday when Bloomberg reported that the previous talks that failed in May were being considered as a benchmark on what US tariffs on China would be rolled back.
But later, US President Donald Trump threatened to raise tariffs further if China would not agree to a deal that he liked.
The aggressive tone unsettled Wall Street and the Dow ended Tuesday down 0.36 percent, while the S&P 500 lost 0.06 percent and the Nasdaq added 0.24 percent.
Dour forecasts from retailers Home Depot and Kohl’s fuelled worries about consumer spending, while the energy sector was the S&P’s biggest loser as oil slid. (Reuters)
