Asian Markets Close Higher On Hope Of Mexico Deal

Asian markets rose on Friday, tracking gains on Wall Street following a report that the United States could delay its plan to hit Mexico with tariffs. Markets in mainland China and Hong Kong were closed for a public holiday.

The threats against Mexico have intensified anxiety among investors, who were already rattled by the seemingly endless US-China trade war.

But US stocks enjoyed a bounce Thursday after Bloomberg News reported that Washington could push back its plan to impose tariffs on Mexico on June 10 to allow more time for talks on illegal immigration.

Upbeat comments from Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, who said the talks with US officials had yielded progress, added to the positive mood.

Export-dependent Mexico has been scrambling to stem the flow of Central American migrants to the US -- deploying troops along its border with Guatemala, blocking a new caravan and freezing the bank accounts of suspected human traffickers -- in a bid to appease Washington.

"The slightly better tone to the Mexico immigration negotiations has seen all US major equity indices end the day in positive territory," Rodrigo Catril, strategist at National Australia Bank, said in a commentary.

Tokyo closed 0.5 percent higher on Friday. Sydney jumped 1.0 percent and Seoul edged up 0.2 percent while Singapore climbed 0.4 percent.

European markets made modest gains in early trade, with London and Paris rising 0.5 percent while Frankfurt was up 0.4 percent. (AFP)

Last updated: 2019-06-07 HKT 15:46