Asian stocks rise as Ukraine peace talks appear to progress

Asian stock markets followed Wall Street higher on Wednesday as talks on ending Russia’s war on Ukraine appeared to make progress.

Shanghai, Hong Kong and Sydney advanced, while Tokyo declined. Oil prices advanced less than $1 per barrel.

That followed Russia’s announcement it would scale back military operations near Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and another northern city. It came as negotiators meeting in Turkey began to lay out a possible deal to end the five-week-old war.

“This was a nice add-on catalyst” to a market rally already under way, Clifford Bennett of ACY Securities said in a report.

The Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.3% to 3,245.22, rebounding from the previous day’s loss after Shanghai, China’s most populous city, closed most businesses to fight coronavirus outbreaks.

The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo fell 1.3% to 27,893.92 after the government reported February retail sales declined by a bigger-than-forecast 0.8%. That left retail spending down 2% from its November peak.

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 0.7% to 22,077.63 and the Kospi in Seoul added 0.2% to 2,746.80.

Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 advanced 0.7% to 7,515.60. New Zealand and Southeast Asian markets also rose.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Feb. 24 attack on neighbouring Ukraine rattled global markets that already were on edge about higher US interest rates and a Chinese economic slowdown.

At the meeting in Turkey, Ukraine’s delegation laid out a framework under which the country would declare itself neutral and its security would be guaranteed by an array of other nations.

The Russian deputy defence minister, Alexander Fomin, said Moscow would “cut back military activity” near Kyiv and Chernihiv but gave no details. President Joe Biden said he wasn’t convinced that would lead to a fundamental shift in the war.