ASIAN MARKETS RALLY

Asian markets rally as Trump agrees to Kim summit.

NEWS that Donald Trump had agreed to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent Asian stock markets surging and the yen tumbling on friday, while dealers were also optimistic .

US trade tariffs will be less severe than thought.

South Korea said the two leaders would hold an unprecedented summit by the end of Ma, raising hopes they can broker an agreement on Pyongyang's nuclear programme that has fuelled tensions on the peninsula.

The news provided a springboard for Asian markets, with Seoul surging 1.1 percent and Tokyo ending 0.5 percent higher.

Hong Kong added 1.1. percent, Sydney and Singapore each rose 0.3 percent and Shanghai jumped 0.6 percent.

Taipei, Manila, Wellington and Mumbai were also higher.

The development came just months after a period of extreme tension and bellicose rhetoric between Washington and Pyongyang that sounded like the growing-

Drumbeat of war as the North carried out a series of missile and nuclear tests.

''It's a big deal    -there's no question this is a positive move.'' Ian Bremmer, president Eurasia Group, a political-risk research and consulting firm in New York, told Bloomberg TV.

''But also there is the possibility that it could go badly, that trump could be embarrassed that they make an agreement that Kim Jong Un could backslide on..

Hopes that the two could reach some sort of agreement also led to a plunge in the yen, which is considered  go-to safe currency in times of volatility and uncertainty.

The dollar jumped to its  highest level in a week.