Asian markets were muted in early trading Tuesday amid positive developments on the U.S.-China trade front.

President Donald Trump said Monday that trade negotiations on a “phase one” deal are going faster than expected, and said the deal would “take care of “ U.S. farmers and bankers. Later in the day, the U.S. Trade Representative’s office said it is considering extending tariff exemptions that were approved last December on $34 billion in Chinese goods.

The news did not boost Chinese stocks though. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index HSI, -0.54%   slipped 0.3% after administrator Carrie Lam said the ongoing pro-democracy protests risked sending the city into recession, while the Shanghai Composite SHCOMP, -0.46%   fell 0.4% and the smaller-cap Shenzhen Composite 399106, -0.31%   retreated 0.3%. Japan’s Nikkei NIK, +0.42%   rose 0.5% and South Korea’s Kospi 180721, -0.10%   slipped 0.2%. Benchmark indexes in Taiwan Y9999, +0.07%  , Singapore STI, +0.53%   and Indonesia JAKIDX, -0.04%   were up slightly. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 XJO, +0.05%   was little changed.

Among individual stocks, Mazda Motor 7261, +2.49%   and Kobe Steel 5406, +2.70%   gained in Tokyo trading while Canon 7751, -0.95%   fell. In Hong Kong, food processor WH Group 288, +8.57%   surged while HSBC 5, -1.58%   and Tencent 700, -1.49%   dropped. Samsung 005930, -0.58%   inched down in South Korea, while BHP BHP, +1.22%   and Rio Tinto RIO, +1.12%   gained in Australia.

 

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