The major Asia-Pac equity benchmarks trade...>

STOCKS: The major Asia-Pac equity benchmarks trade in mixed territory, after the

signing of the phase 1 Sino-U.S. trade deal underwhelmed on Wednesday. U.S.

equity index futures have edged higher after the cash benchmarks finished off of

best levels in Wall St. trade.

- Chinese equities have underperformed, with some continuing to point to the

PBoC's decision to the leave the interest rate applied to yesterday's MLF ops as

a bit of a disappoint, even as the bank added further LNY liquidity via its

14-day reverse ops today.

- The ASX 200 was the outperformer, clearing the psychological 7,000 level for

the first time as the IT, consumer staples & financial sectors pushed the index

higher.

- Nikkei 225 unch., Hang Seng -0.1%, CSI 300 -0.3%, ASX 200 +0.5%.

- S&P 500 futures +3, DJIA futures +21, NASDAQ 100 futures +9.