Asian equities edged lower on Thursday as investors assessed news of a trade understanding between the United States and China, alongside central bank policy signals from Japan and the United States. Markets swung between gains and losses after US President Donald Trump said he had agreed with Chinese President Xi Jinping to lower tariffs on Chinese imports in exchange for Beijing resuming US soybean purchases, maintaining rare earth exports, and cracking down on fentanyl trafficking. China has yet to comment on the announcement. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 0.5 per cent, while the Nikkei 225 fell 0.4 per cent after the Bank of Japan (BOJ) kept rates unchanged but hinted at possible tightening in December. The yen weakened to 152.77 per dollar. In the United States, the Federal Reserve cut rates by 25 basis points but signalled caution amid limited data availability due to a government shutdown. Fed funds futures now imply a 67.8 per cent probability of no rate change in December. The 10-year Treasury yield hovered near 4.07 per cent, while the dollar index eased 0.2 per cent to 98.98. Among corporate movers, Samsung Electronics rose 3.4 per cent after posting a 32 per cent jump in third-quarter profit, while Meta and Microsoft shares fell on higher AI-related spending. Alphabet gained after beating revenue forecasts. Attribution: Reuters
