Markets end tough week on a higher note

TRADE tensions dictated the performance of global markets over the past week, driving Asian markets into their longest selloff in 16 years before news of renewed trade talks between the US and China lifted the gloom on Thursday. Even Wall Street breathed a sigh of relief that day, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average closing near record highs after the news.

Amid the positive sentiment, analysts reiterated calls for caution since no concrete steps have been taken to resolve the dispute.

"Markets need to separate trade rhetoric and trade actions. While heated rhetoric may contribute to the shifting investor expectations we have seen this week, there has been no fundamental change in the state of the US-China trade dispute," Hannah Anderson, global market strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management, told AFP.