Asia stocks jump on hopes of a deal in the US-China trade war

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped nearly 4% while China's Shanghai Composite and Japan's Nikkei rose more than 2% in Friday afternoon trading.

The gains started after US President Donald Trump talked up the prospects of a deal on trade with Beijing after speaking with President Xi Jinping by phone.

Trump later posted on Twitter that talks were "moving along nicely."

Asian markets added to their gains after Bloomberg News reported early Friday afternoon in Asia that Trump has asked US cabinet officials to draft a possible trade deal with China ahead of a planned meeting with Xi at the G20 leaders summit in Buenos Aires later this month.

China's beaten down currency, the yuan, also rose almost 0.3% against the dollar amid the buoyant mood.

This is a developing story.

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