Asia's major equity markets closed Thursday's session in negative territory, on the eve of a summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and United States President Donald Trump. Rising oil prices and a global bond sell-off that pushed yields to multi-decade highs also weighed on market sentiment.
The MSCI Asia Pacific index, the benchmark for Asian equity markets, fell 0.75% on the day, as investors focused on the outcome of the Xi-Trump meeting, at which the terms of bilateral trade relations — among other issues — were expected to be discussed. As the Chinese president landed at Andrews Air Force Base, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a two-month extension of the trade truce between the two countries.
China's main indices tracked the broader negative trend. The Hang Seng fell 0.42% while the Shanghai Composite lost 1.09%. Among the steepest individual declines, shares in Chinese technology platform Baidu dropped more than 2%.
Elsewhere in the region, Japan's Topix index retreated 0.4%, while the technology-heavy Nikkei advanced 0.8% following three consecutive non-trading days due to national holidays. 'Thursday's gains were driven largely by a recovery in the technology sector during the break,' said Koji Takeuchi, senior researcher at the Itochu Research Institute.
Overall sentiment remained cautious, however, with investors monitoring both the Xi-Trump summit and ongoing instability in the Middle East. 'It is impossible for investors to predict where things go from here,' Takeuchi told Bloomberg. 'Profit-taking now appears to be emerging as the initial rally cools,' he added.
In South Korea, the Kospi index rose 0.90%, supported by strong performances from some of the country's flagship listed companies. Samsung gained 3.25% while SK Hynix advanced 1.20%.
In Europe, Euro Stoxx 50 futures pointed to a lower open, with a decline of 0.39% indicated.
Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/2026/09/24/mercados/mercados-mercados/bolsas-asiaticas-fecham-sessao-em-terreno-negativo-antes-do-encontro-xi-trump-na-casa-branca/
