INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
TOKYO: Asian stocks were on shaky ground on Wednesday, as earlier relief over Washington's temporary relaxation of curbs against China's
Huawei Technologies failed to offset deeper worries about trade frictions between the world's two largest economies.
MSCI's broadest
index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan initially edged up following gains on Wall Street but was last down 0.15 per cent.
Australian
stocks slipped 0.25 per cent, South Korea's KOSPI fell 0.45 per cent and Japan's Nikkei edged up 0.05 per cent.
"Some in the markets
will continue to cling on to hopes of the United States and China reaching an agreement at the upcoming G20 meeting," said Masahiro
Ichikawa, senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management
"But the ongoing trade conflict looks to be a protracted one, and its potentially negative impact on various economies is becoming a running
concern."
The US Commerce Department on Monday granted Huawei Technologies Co Ltd a license to buy US goods until Aug
19, a move intended to give telecom operators that rely on Huawei time to make other arrangements.
The United States blocked Huawei from
buying US goods last week, a major escalation in the trade war against China, saying the firm was involved in activities contrary to
national security.
Shares of technology companies helped lift Wall Street on Tuesday after Washington's easing of curbs on Huawei
Chipmakers, many of which sell to Huawei, had been hit at the start of the week.
Leaders from G20 nations are scheduled to gather for a
summit in Japan at the end of June.
The dollar traded at 110.580 yen after popping up to a two-week high of 110.675 against the safe-haven
Japanese currency as risk aversion in the broader markets softened.
The greenback was also supported as US yields rose in the wake of gains
by Wall Street shares.
The euro was little changed at $1.1165 after brushing a 2-1/2-week trough of $1.1142.
The pound was steady at $1.2708
Sterling had sunk to a four-month low of $1.2685 on Tuesday on Brexit worries but bounced back after British Prime Minister Theresa May
proposed a "new" Brexit deal.
The Australian dollar, sensitive to shifts in risk sentiment, slipped 0.15 per cent to $0.6873
The currency had suffered losses the previous day when the country's central bank governor said interest rates might be cut as soon as
next month.
In commodities, US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 0.59 per cent at $62.76 per barrel after American
Petroleum Institute data showed that US crude stockpiles rose unexpectedly last week