Shares recover on Friday, end 0.4% down on the week

MOVEMENTS in Asian markets mirrored that of a pendulum, with sentiment across the week constantly swinging from one side to another on dithering feelings over the outlook of a US-China trade deal.

Traders pointed out the region's benchmarks performed similarly to the week before. This is particularly true of the middle and later stretches, during which trade worries hit a low point on Wednesday and Thursday only to recover on Friday after conciliatory news reports on a trade agreement were released.

The Wall Street Journal's Thursday report that China invited US trade negotiators for talks saw equities recover though gains were capped.