* MSCI Asia ex-Japan +0.43%
* Euro Stoxx 50 futures point to higher open in Europe
* China blue chips jump after PBOC announces RRR cut
* Trump says Phase 1 trade deal to be signed Jan. 15.
* Asian stock markets: https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
By Andrew Galbraith
SHANGHAI, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Asian shares kicked off 2020 on
a strong note on Thursday, spurred by Chinese markets after
Beijing eased monetary policy to support the slowing economy.
Investors also cheered news that the United States and China
will sign a trade pact soon after months of volatile
negotiations between the world's two largest economies.
European equities were set to follow Asia higher in their
first trading session of the new decade. Pan-region Euro Stoxx
50 futures STXEc1 rose 0.62% and FTSE futures FFIc1 were up
0.31%, though German DAX futures FDXc1 fell 0.18%.
U.S. stock futures also suggested a bright start on Wall
Street, with S&P 500 e-minis ESc1 up 0.28%.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS rose 0.43%, after rising 5.6% in December.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Phase 1 of
trade deal with China would be signed on Jan. 15 at the White
House, though uncertainty surrounds details about the agreement.
Rising hopes for a resolution to the U.S.-China trade war
helped propel global equities to record highs late last year and
depressed the value of the U.S. dollar.
MSCI's all-country world index .MIWD00000PUS of stock
performance in 49 nations touched an all-time high of 567.80 on
Dec. 27. It was last quoted at 565.28, off 0.44% from that peak.
In China, the blue-chip CSI300 index .CSI300 , one of the
world's best-performing indexes last year, jumped as much as
1.86% on Thursday to its highest level since Feb. 7, 2018. It
was last up 1.35%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng .HSI added 1.05%.
Investors were cheered after China's central bank on
Wednesday said that it would cut the amount of cash that banks
must hold as reserves, releasing around 800 billion yuan
($114.9 billion) in funds for lending, effective Jan. 6.
Though China's economy has started to show some signs of
bottoming out, analysts say it is not out of the woods yet and
expect further growth boosting moves in coming
months. "I think the monetary angle in terms of what it means for
the companies, is not that important," said Jim McCafferty, head
of Asia ex-Japan equity research at Nomura in Hong Kong.
"However, for what it means from the consumer point of view,
then clearly if there's easy money and ... individuals can
borrow cheaply and repay debt quickly, then that of course is
going to help the economy and the companies."
McCafferty said a recovery in memory chips and new handset
development prompted by the rollout of 5G mobile technology
could help lift tech-heavy equity markets like South Korea and
Taiwan this year.
Australian shares .AXJO flicked between small gains and
losses before ending up 0.1%. Seoul's Kospi .KS11 lost 0.85%,
while shares in Taiwan .TWII added 0.86%.
Markets in Japan were closed for a national holiday.
The gains in Asia followed a bullish end to the year on Wall
Street on Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose
0.27% and the S&P 500 .SPX gained 0.29%. The Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC added 0.3%. .N
In currency markets, the dollar was slightly stronger
against major peers, but gains were capped as investors
continued to expect a better outlook for global growth and trade
as well as an end to U.S. economic outperformance.
The dollar was 0.03% stronger against the yen at 108.73
JPY= while the euro EUR= shaved off 0.04% to 1.1205.
The dollar index .DXY , which tracks the greenback against
a basket of six rivals, was up 0.23% to 96.606.
U.S. crude CLc1 was up 0.28% to $61.23 and global
benchmark Brent crude LCOc1 rose 0.33% to $66.22 per barrel,
building on a rise that gave oil its biggest annual gain in
three years in 2019. Gold, which has benefited from a weaker greenback, was up
0.23% on the spot market despite the slightly strong dollar. It
last fetched $1,520.37 per ounce. XAU= GOL/
($1 = 6.9633 Chinese yuan renminbi)