* Asian stock markets: https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
* Stocks erase gains as trade optimism fades
* Oil extend overnight decline
* Analysts warn there are still risks to outlook
By Stanley White
TOKYO, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Asian stocks pared gains on
Thursday and safe-haven assets rose as optimism for a quick
resolution to the U.S.-China trade war faded.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS was up 0.1%. Japan's Nikkei .N225 slid 0.12%.
The pan-region Euro Stoxx 50 futures STXEc1 were down
0.09%, German DAX futures FDXc1 were down 0.02%, while FTSE
futures FFIc1 fell 0.03%.
Asian shares got off to a bright start after U.S. President
Donald Trump said a deal to end a nearly 15-month trade war with
China "could happen sooner" that people think. However, the positive mood faded and Chinese shares
.CSI300 fell 0.35% as Trump's repeated mixed messages about
trade negotiations caused investors to curb their enthusiasm.
Treasury prices and gold rose in a sign that some investors
preferred safe assets given lingering risks posed by trade
friction and political uncertainty.
"Trump is genuinely interested in reaching a trade agreement
with China, but he also trusts his advisers and when they tell
him what the Chinese are bringing to the table is insufficient,
or has been dramatically altered at the last minute," Jeff M.
Smith, Research Fellow at the South Asia-Heritage Foundation,
said in the Global Markets Forum chatroom
"He's proven more than willing to walk away from a bad
deal."
U.S. stock futures ESc1 fell 0.18% on Thursday, following
a 0.62% increase in the S&P 500 on Wednesday.
The United States and China have been locked in a year-long
dispute over Beijing's trade practices that has slowed global
growth and increased the risk of recession for some economies.
Analysts tempered their optimism over a resolution to the
trade war because Trump's public comments often send mixed
signals.
Just on Tuesday, Trump sharply criticised China in a speech
at the United Nations General Assembly, where he said he would
not accept a "bad deal".
Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe signed a
limited trade deal on Wednesday that cuts tariffs on U.S. farm
goods, Japanese machine tools and other products while further
staving off the threat of higher U.S. car duties. Japanese shares initially got a boost from the agreement but
turned lower in volatile trade as investors squared positions
before shares go ex-dividend from Friday.
Australian shares .AXJO also fell 0.53% percent as
scepticism about and end to the trade war set in.
Treasury prices rose as investors sought safe-haven assets.
The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes US10YT=RR
fell to 1.7025%. The two-year yield US2YT=RR fell to 1.6595%.
Spot gold XAU= , another safe-haven, rose 0.31% to
$1,508.52 per ounce. GOL/
Investors are largely shrugging off the Democrats' decision
to begin an impeachment inquiry into Trump. The move came as a
summary of a telephone call showed the U.S. president had asked
Ukraine's president to investigate a political rival.
Casting doubt over the likelihood of impeachment is the
majority held by Trump's Republicans in the Senate, which can be
used to quash any attempt to remove the president from office.
The New Zealand dollar NZD=D3 jumped 0.59% to $0.6305
after the head of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand said
unconventional monetary easing is unlikely as central banks
ponder how to contain risks posed by trade friction.
U.S. crude CLc1 fell 0.05% to $56.48 per barrel in another
sign of investor concern about the global economy.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Japan stocks: cheap and profitable https://tmsnrt.rs/2W6a7Fe
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
(Editing by Sam Holmes and Richard Borsuk; Editing by Stephen
Coates)