Asia-Pacific equities were broadly higher after a positive session on Wall Street saw the S&P 500 end the day up 0.5 per cent, although it had gained as much as 2 per cent following positive comments from US President Donald Trump on the prospects of a US-China trade deal.

The pound was 0.1 per cent lower in Asia trading on Thursday at $1.2617 following a raucous session that saw it bounce off a 20-month low of $1.2475 to stand 1 per cent higher on the day as at UK Prime Minister Theresa May successfully fought off a confidence vote in parliament.

Canada’s foreign minister on Wednesday said her government was worried about a second citizen who had been asked questions by Chinese authorities after it was revealed a former Canadian diplomat had been detained in Beijing.

Theresa May has survived an attempted coup by Eurosceptic Conservative MPs, but she travels to Brussels on Thursday to try to save her Brexit deal with her authority shaken and her party bitterly divided.

A tearful Michael Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison on Wednesday by a federal judge who said he should face “considerable punishment” for engaging in a “smorgasbord of fraudulent activity” — including crimes committed at the direction of Donald Trump, his one-time patron.

US stocks advanced on Wednesday as signs of progress in trade talks between Washington and China lifted sentiment on Wall Street, but stocks ended well below their session highs.

The UN secretary-general flew back to the climate talks in Poland to deliver an emergency address on Wednesday, urging countries to reach agreement on a widening set of issues that threaten to stall the process.

Sterling edged off its highs of the day after a majority of Conservative party MPs opted for Theresa May to stay in power following a vote of confidence in her leadership late on Wednesday evening.

Theresa May has won a vote of confidence in her leadership, defeating an attempted coup by Eurosceptic Tory rebels who had sought to dislodge her and take control of Brexit.

Brazil’s central bank kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday for the eighth month in a row as tame inflation readings give policymakers breathing room to take a wait-and-see stance.

Under Armour shares tumbled on Wednesday after the athletic wear company issued an underwhelming longer term forecast at its investor day.

Lowe’s announced on Wednesday it will buy back an additional $10bn in shares and expects to register stronger earnings than Wall Street expected for the next fiscal year.

Shares in gold miner Acacia Mining rose by 6 per cent on Wednesday on hopes of a resolution to its longstanding dispute with the Tanzanian government, which has hampered its operations in the country.

Oil prices saw volatile trading on Wednesday but managed to stay in positive territory after a new report showed inventories of US crude slipped for the second straight week.

Shares in Spain’s Liberbank and Unicaja jumped sharply on Wednesday morning, after the two mid-sized lenders announced in regulatory filings that they had begun discussions about a possible merger.

Andy Agg, the interim chief financial officer of UK infrastructure operator National Grid will take on the position on a permanent basis from next year.

Mortgage lenders in the US saw an increase in loan applications last week as interest rates slipped below 5 per cent for the first time in nearly three months.

Mick Davis, the former chief executive of miner Xstrata, has joined the board of a coal start-up backed by oil trader Vitol and miner Peabody.

Tencent Music Entertainment rose modestly in its debut on the New York Stock Exchange after pricing its initial public offering at the low end of expectations.

Wall Street kicked off trading with a bang on Wednesday, with renewed optimism over US-China trade relations helping the three main indices to their biggest one-day gain in over a week.

Leo Varadkar received a big political boost after the opposition party that keeps his minority Irish government in power offered not to force an election for a year because of the turmoil over Brexit.

A jury failed to reach a majority verdict in an insider trading case against a former UBS compliance officer and her day-trader friend accused of making £1.4m in profit using confidential deal tips.

Sterling climbed to its highs of the day after a majority of Theresa May’s MPs expressed their public support for the prime minister ahead of a vote of confidence in her leadership later on Wednesday evening.

US inflation rose at its slowest pace in nine months in November as fuel and energy costs fell, in the latest sign that price pressures are easing after a surge earlier this year.