SYDNEY (Reuters) - The dollar jumped to a 3-week top on Tuesday while stock markets in Asia ticked higher as a landmark U.S.-North Korea summit in Singapore raised hopes the bitter foes might be able to strike a deal to end a nuclear stand-off on the Korean peninsula.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he had forged a “good relationship” with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the start of their historic meeting, just months after they traded insults and tensions spiraled in the region over the reclusive regime’s nuclear programs.
Kim said the meeting was “a good prelude to peace”, but there was some unease among investors about the outcome of the talks given the tense relations between the two nations.
The combatants of the 1950-53 Korean War are technically still at war, as the conflict, in which millions of people died, was concluded only with a truce.
The dollar rose against the safe-haven yen, while the Korean won KRW= gained 0.2 percent to edge above a recent two-week trough. U.S. stock futures were barely changed with E-Minis for the S&P 500 ESc1 up 0.02 percent and Dow futures inching 0.06 percent higher.
In Asian equity markets, trading was volatile with Japan's Nikkei .N225 paring early gains to add 0.3 percent after earlier rising as much as 0.9 percent.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS seesawed between positive and negative territory, and was last up 0.1. South Korean shares .KS11
