Asia stocks mixed as investors wait for concrete developments on US-China trade

KEY POINTS

• Shares in Asia were mixed on Wednesday.
• Investors continued to watch for developments on U.S.-China trade.
• An earlier data release by China's National Bureau of Statistics showed industrial profits declining 9.9% year-on-year in October.
• Overnight on Wall Street, stocks rose to yet another record.

Shares in Asia were mixed on Wednesday as investors looked for concrete developments on U.S.-China trade as the threat of increased tariffs looms.

Mainland Chinese stocks shed gains from an earlier recovery to end their trading day lower, with the Shanghai composite declining 0.13% to about 2,903.19 and the Shenzhen component slipping 0.3% at 9,648.39. The Shenzhen composite also fell 0.227% to around 1,602.

The moves came after an earlier data release by China's National Bureau of Statistics showed industrial profits declining 9.9% year-on-year in October.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index closed 0.15% higher at 26,954. Hong Kong-listed shares of Chinese tech juggernaut Alibaba continued their upward trek as they gained 2.99%, following a blockbuster debut on Tuesday.

Elsewhere, the Nikkei 225 in Japan rose 0.28% to close at 23,437.77, while the Topix index gained 0.31% to end its trading day at 1,710.98. South Korea's Kospi also advanced 0.31% to close at 2,127.85.

Shares in Australia also saw gains on the day, with the S&P/ASX 200 up 0.93% to 6,850.60.

Overall, the broader MSCI Asia ex-Japan index was 0.35% higher.

US-China trade watch

Investors continue to watch for updates on U.S.-China trade talks. Leading negotiators from Washington and Beijing held another phone call on Tuesday morning to discuss how to "resolve core issues," China's Ministry of Commerce said.

That was bolstered by comments from U.S. President Donald Trump, who also said Tuesday that Washington and Beijing are in the "final throes" of reaching a trade deal.

"I do think that the trade deal is increasingly likely given … President Trump's comments," Tai Hui, chief Asia market strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Wednesday.

"Both sides have incentives to push through at least this phase one," Hui said. "I think going forward to phase two, phase three, that'll be increasingly difficult but given where we are in the macro cycle, I do think that even the U.S. they'd have strong incentive to at least not escalate this tension further."

Still, an anticipated "phase one" trade deal between the two economic powerhouses has remained elusive ahead of Dec. 15, when additional tariffs on Chinese exports to the U.S. are set to kick in.

Robert Carnell, chief economist and head of research for Asia Pacific at ING, wrote in a note that markets "seem to be getting enured" to comments such as those from Trump.

"The fact that we have heard these positive comments so often but are still waiting for a deal could be interpreted as meaning that significant problems still remain," Carnell said. "This may be more than just dotting the 'i's' and crossing the 't's.'"

TICKER	COMPANY	NAME	PRICE	CHANGE	%CHANGE
.N225	Nikkei 225 Index	NIKKEI	39,103.22	UNCH	UNCH
.HSI	Hang Seng Index	HSI	18,868.71	-326.89	-1.70%
.AXJO	S&P/ASX 200	ASX 200	7,811.80	UNCH	UNCH
.SSEC	Shanghai	SHANGHAI	3,116.39	-42.15	-1.33%
.KS11	KOSPI Index	KOSPI	2,721.81	UNCH	UNCH
.FTFCNBCA	CNBC 100 ASIA IDX	CNBC 100	9,779.13	+8.21	+0.08%

Overnight on Wall Street, stocks hit another record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 55.14 points to close at 28,121.68 while the S&P 500 finished its trading day 0.2% higher at 3,140.50. The Nasdaq Composite also added nearly 0.2% to close at 8,647.93.

Currencies and oil

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 98.355 after seeing an earlier low below 98.3.

The Japanese yen traded at 109.16 against the dollar after weakening from levels around 108.9 yesterday. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.678 after seeing an earlier low of $0.6769.

Oil prices were little changed in the afternoon of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures flat at $64.27 per barrel. U.S. crude futures were fractionally lower at $58.38 per barrel.

— CNBC's Fred Imbert contributed to this report.