GLOBAL MARKETS-Asia looks on bright side of Brexit, trade talks

* Asian stock markets : https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
* Asian trade quiet with Tokyo off, no major data due
* Trump, Kudlow sound upbeat on China trade talks
* Pound holds firm as more Brexit votes loom
* Trudeau's Liberals to form minority govt after election

By Wayne Cole
SYDNEY, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Asian shares made guarded gains
on Tuesday amid optimism about prospects for a Sino-U.S. trade
deal, while investors were sanguine yet another vote on Brexit
would still avert a hard exit for Britain.
A holiday in Tokyo kept turnover light and MSCI's broadest
index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS added
a modest 0.4%.
Futures for Japan's Nikkei NKc1 were trading at 22,760,
compared to Monday's index close at 22,548 .N225 . South Korean
stocks .KS11 rose 0.9% but Shanghai blue chips .CSI300
slipped 0.2%.
E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 ESc1 gained 0.17% and
EUROSTOXX 50 futures STXEc1 0.14%.
China and the United States have achieved some progress in
their trade talks, Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng said on
Tuesday, adding that as long as both sides respected each other,
no problem could not be resolved. U.S. President Donald Trump sounded upbeat on a China deal
on Monday, while White House adviser Larry Kudlow said tariffs
on Chinese goods scheduled for December could be withdrawn if
talks go well. Trade-sensitive technology stocks .SPLRCT rose 1.1%,
helping lift the S&P 500 .SPX 0.69% and near to a record
closing high. The Dow .DJI gained 0.21%, while the Nasdaq
.IXIC rose 0.91%. .N
The better mood saw safe-haven bonds extend their recent
pullback, with 10-year Treasury yields US10YT=RR at a
five-week peak of 1.80%. US/
In foreign exchange markets, the dollar found support
against the yen at 108.64 JPY= while staying steady on a
basket of currencies to 97.297 .DXY .
The euro paused after its recent run higher and was last
trading quietly at $1.1151 EUR= .
Sterling held firm at $1.2980 GBP=D3 after Prime Minister
Boris Johnson failed to get a vote on his Brexit deal and will
try again on Tuesday to get the first stage of a withdrawal bill
through Parliament. "If the House of Commons vote in favour of the deal, GBP/USD
could rally towards $1.3500 over the medium term. The UK would
then enter a transition period that lasts until 31 December
2020," said Kim Mundy, a currency strategist at CBA.
"If the Commons rejects the deal, GBP/USD will likely
stabilise around $1.2800, because the risk of a hard Brexit will
remain low," he added. "Early UK general elections would be the
next most logical way forward."
The Canadian dollar kept its recent gains at C$1.3076 per
U.S. dollar CAD= as CBC TV predicted the ruling Liberal
government of Justin Trudeau had won re-election but with a
minority government. In commodity markets, spot gold was idling at $1,484.25 per
ounce XAU= .
Oil prices were little moved as the market fretted about the
health of the global economy and the future for energy demand.
O/R
Brent crude LCOc1 futures were down 2 cents at $58.94,
while U.S. crude CLc1 added 4 cents to $53.35 a barrel.

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(Editing by Richard Borsuk & Shri Navaratnam)