FX.co ★ Australian Shares Muted on Trump-Xi Talk

The S&P/ASX 200 Index remained relatively unchanged in early Friday trading, hovering around the 8,540 mark. Despite this, the index appears poised for a fourth consecutive weekly gain, as investors exhibit cautious optimism about the ongoing US-China trade negotiations. This sentiment follows a recent phone conversation between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, in which both leaders agreed to have their officials resume trade discussions soon. Analysts, however, caution that despite this renewed dialogue, the risk of escalating tensions remains due to a lack of substantial progress. Investors are also closely monitoring a set of significant economic data from China, Australia's leading trade partner, which will be released next Monday. This data includes consumer and producer price indexes, as well as trade figures. Among the notable gainers in the market were BHP Group, which rose by 0.9%, CSL Limited, up by 0.4%, and Westpac Banking, up by 0.5%. In contrast, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and ANZ Group experienced declines, with losses of 0.8% and 0.2%, respectively.