STI ends flat on trade war fears

STOCK markets in Asia awoke to surprising news that the US and North Korea will hold their first summit after Kim Jong Un offered to stop nuclear and missile testing.

The meeting, which is expected to take place by May, will mark a potentially dramatic breakthrough in the North Korea nuclear standoff. The news sent the yen - a haven during times of stress - tumbling at one point the most in more than two weeks against the US dollar.

"We should expect this news to boost regional market sentiment as well," said Stephen Innes, OANDA's head of trading for Asia-Pacific.