Asian stocks trade mixed amid contrasting headlines on US-China trade talks

Asian equities are trading mixed amid contrasting headlines regarding developments in the US-China trade talks.

As of writing, Japan's Nikkei reporting a 0.28% gain and the Shanghai Composite is adding 0.12%. Meanwhile, South Korea's Kospi is reporting a 0.8% decline and the futures on the S&P 500 are shedding 0.15%.

Benchmark indices in Hong Kong, Australia, and New Zealand are trading flat.

The stock markets in Asia had a rough start on the news of US-China trade-talk fallout reported by the South China Morning Post. The news, however, was dismissed by the White House Spokesman, offering relief to the markets.

Later Bloomberg reported that the US is planning to enter into a currency agreement with China, which could pave the way for broader negotiations. Further, the New York Times reported that the Trump administration is planning to issue licenses that would allow some US companies to supply products to China's Huawei.

As a result, the bid tone around the risky assets strengthened, allowing the futures on the S&P 500 to recover losses. The index futures were down 1% in the early Asia trading hours. Also, the AUD/USD pair jumped by more than 30 pips.

So far, however, the equities have traded mixed, as noted earlier, possibly because investors are still skeptical about the possibility of a breakthrough US-China trade deal.

After all, the two countries have been on the cusp of an agreement before, only to have the arrangement fall apart.