Asian stocks end week mostly higher on tariff deal prospects

ISTANBUL

Asian stocks closed the week higher, except for China, as hopes for tariff deals rose after US President Donald Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni spoke positively on Thursday about the prospects for a trade deal between the US and the EU.

Global stock markets have been in turmoil since the US imposed "reciprocal" tariffs on April 2 and then postponed them for 90 days on April 9.

Stocks rose sharply after countries contacted the US to negotiate trade agreements, raising hopes of avoiding a trade war.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index closed the week at 34,730.28, up 1.03%, or 352.68 points. The Asia Dow, which tracks the region's top blue-chip companies, rose 0.21% to 3,988.16 points as of 1325GMT.

The Hang Seng Index, a key benchmark for Hong Kong's blue-chip stocks, increased 1.61% to 21,395.14 points. India's Sensex index went up 1.96% to 78,553.20.

On the other hand, China's Shanghai Stock Exchange fell 0.11% to 3,276.73 points.

Along with Giorgia Meloni and the EU, Japan, South Korea, and a number of other countries sent representatives to the US to negotiate better trade deals.

The US president said China also reached out for talks following his decision to impose new tariffs on Beijing. Trump said Beijing had made contact “a number of times” since the US announced a 145% tariff on certain Chinese goods.