US-China trade talks, data to give market direction

INVESTOR sentiment see-sawed in the past week with Asian markets starting on a high from news of a 90-day US-China trade truce, only to be foiled by doubt and subsequently, the arrest of Huawei's chief financial officer in Canada over potential violations of US sanctions on Iran.

This came amid concerns over the outlook of the US economy due to an inversion of a segment of the US treasury yield curve, which is widely regarded as an early indicator of a potential economic recession.

But as markets head into the final weeks of the calendar, the question on many investors' minds is whether there will be some upside to close the year out.