HAPPY NEW YEAR , WELCOME IN 2020

On Thursday, Asian kicked off the new decade higher, after global stocks ended the previous one at record highs, and buoyed by Chinese markets after Beijing eased monetary policy to support slowing growth.

• Investors also cheered news that the United States and China will sign a trade pact soon after a year of volatile negotiations between the world's two largest economies.

• U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Phase 1 of trade deal with China would be signed on Jan. 15 at the White House, though uncertainty surrounds details about the agreement.

• Rising hopes for a resolution to the U.S.-China trade war helped propel global equities to record highs late last year and depress the value of the U.S. dollar.

• In China, the blue-chip index, one of the world's best-performing indexes last year, was 1.34% higher in early trade.

• On Wednesday China's central bank that it would cut the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves, releasing around 800 billion yuan in funds effective Jan. 6.

• Markets in Japan are closed for a national holiday.

• The gains in Asia follow a bullish end to the year on Wall Street on Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.27% to 28,538.44 and the S&P 500 gained 0.29% to 3,230.78. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.3% to 8,972.60.

• In currency markets, the dollar continued to weaken slightly against major peers as investors bet on a better outlook for global growth and trade.

• The dollar was 0.06% weaker against the yen at 108.64 while the euro gained 0.11% to 1.1222.

• The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six rivals, was little changed, rising 0.04% to 96.427.

• U.S. crude was up 0.36% to $61.28 and global benchmark Brent crude rose to $66.24 per barrel, building on a rise that gave oil its biggest annual gain in three years in 2019.

• Gold, which has benefited from a weaker greenback, was up 0.18% on the spot market, fetching $1,522.65 per ounce.