GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian stocks subdued, oil rises on U.S.-Iran tensions

* Asian stocks up slightly on hopes of Sino-U.S. trade talks
* Investors not sure if meaningful deal can be reached
* Oil edges up on tensions in the Persian Gulf
* Gold at 6-year high on weak dollar, safe-haven bids
* Asian stock markets: https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4

By Hideyuki Sano
TOKYO, June 24 (Reuters) - Asian shares were off to a
cautious start on Monday as investors pinned their hopes on any
signs of a thaw in Sino-U.S. trade negotiations while oil prices
firmed on worries over heightened tensions between the United
States and Iran.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS rose 0.16% in early trade while Japan's Nikkei
.N225 ticked down 0.26%.
Wall Street shares closed slightly lower on Friday after
hitting a record high thanks to signals last week from the
Federal Reserve that it would cut interest rates soon to bolster
its economy from protracted trade conflicts.
The Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency said on Sunday
China's President Xi Jinping will attend the G20 summit in Japan
this week, giving the first official confirmation of his
attendance at a gathering where he is expected to meet U.S.
President Donald Trump. The news came after U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on Friday
decided to call off a planned China speech, which also increased
optimism on upcoming trade talks with Beijing. Pence had upset
China with a fierce speech in October in which he laid out a
litany of complaints ranging from state surveillance to
human-rights abuses. "Event-driven players are buying back stocks as U.S. and
China at least appear to be talking to each other," said
Norihiro Fujito, chief investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ
Morgan Stanley Securities.
Still, there remain doubts on whether the two sides could
come to any meaningful agreement as the tensions have extended
beyond tariffs, particularly after Washington put Huawei
HWT.UL , the world's biggest telecoms gear maker, on a
blacklist that effectively bans U.S. firms from doing business
with the company.
The U.S. Commerce Department said on Friday it was adding
several Chinese companies and a government-owned institute
involved in super computing with military applications to its
national security "entity list" that bars them from buying U.S.
parts and components without government approval. In China, the Global Times newspaper said FedEx Corp FDX.N
is likely to be added to Beijing's 'unreliable entities list'.
"Few investors would expect a dramatic progress when they
are talking about entity lists, just days before a likely
summit," Fujito said, adding that markets could slip back on
disappointment after the summit.
Oil prices held firm near three-week highs hit last week
after the United States and Iran came to the brink of war
following Iran's shooting down of an unmanned U.S. surveillance
drone.
Brent crude futures rose 0.6% to $65.58 per barrel LCOc1 ,
near Friday's three-week high of $65.76. U.S. crude futures were
up 0.75% CLc1 at $57.88 per barrel.
Tehran said the drone was spying over its territory while
Washington said it was downed over international airspace.
President Trump said on Sunday he was not seeking war with
Tehran after a senior Iranian military commander warned any
conflict in the Gulf region could spread uncontrollably and
threaten the lives of U.S. troops. Yet tensions remain high between longtime foes Iran and the
United States, with Washington due to announce "significant"
sanctions on Iran on Monday.
Also potentially becoming a factor in the equation, Arab
politicians and commentators greeted Trump's $50 billion Middle
East economic vision with a mixture of derision and
exasperation, although some in the Gulf called for it to be
given a chance. The combination of heightened geopolitical worries and
likely U.S. interest rates cuts encouraged investors to seek the
safety of gold.
The precious metal stood at $1,406.2 per ounce XAU= ,
near Friday's six-year high of $1,411.2.
The euro rose to three-month high of $1.1379 EUR= in early
Monday trade.
The dollar fetched 107.33 yen JPY= , having slipped to as
low as 107.045 on Friday, the lowest level since its flash crash
on Jan. 3.
The Turkish lira strengthened about 0.75% to 5.767
TRYTOM=D4 after Turkey's main opposition claimed a decisive
victory on Sunday in Istanbul's re-run election, dealing one of
the biggest blows to President Tayyip Erdogan.

(Editing by Jacqueline Wong)