(Reuters) - Australian shares were poised to gain on Friday on reports the United States and China have reached a "deal in principle" to resolve a 17-month long trade dispute that hurt global economic growth and demand.
Sources familiar with the negotiations told Reuters on Thursday that U.S. negotiators offered to cut existing tariffs on Chinese goods by as much as 50% and suspend new tariffs scheduled to go into effect on Sunday, in an attempt to reach a "phase one" deal.
The local share price index futures <YAPcm1> rose 0.4%, a 23.2-point premium to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index <.AXJO> close. The benchmark fell 0.7% on Thursday.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index <.NZ50> fell 0.2% in early trade.
(Reporting by Niyati Shetty in Bengaluru; Editing by Chris Reese)
