Asian markets were mixed Thursday with investors moving cautiously as they sifted through conflicting reports about the outlook for upcoming China-US trade talks.

Global investors have been broadly upbeat in recent weeks that the meeting in Washington between top-level representatives would see at least some progress.

As they prepared to return to the negotiating table on Thursday, top Chinese trade officials faced a blitz of aggressive US maneuvers, with expectations for a grand bargain between both sides approaching zero.

Protesters in Ecuador threw projectiles at riot police Wednesday in a second day of violent protests over a fuel price hike ordered by the government to secure an IMF loan.

European and U.S. stock markets rebounded Wednesday, helped by reports that China would accept a partial trade deal with the US in key talks this week.

British travel agent Hays Travel on Wednesday said it had agreed to buy all 555 UK stores from Thomas Cook after the holiday company's collapse.

Nissan's new chief executive Makoto Uchida is an insider with a global outlook, but he faces an uphill struggle to right the Japanese automaker still reeling from the Carlos Ghosn scandal.

Uchida, 53, was named on Tuesday to replace Hiroto Saikawa, who resigned in September after being implicated in an excess pay scheme.

Asian markets tracked hefty losses in New York on Wednesday owing to growing China-US tensions ahead of fresh trade talks, while the pound remained beaten down by fears Britain is on the verge of crashing out of the EU.

Britain's debt burden would jump to its highest level in 50 years if it leaves the EU without a deal, a leading think-tank warned Tuesday.

Ireland's 2020 budget includes a 1.2-billion-euro relief fund to cushion the economic blow of Britain leaving the European Union without a negotiated agreement, finance minister Paschal Donohoe said Tuesday.

Crisis-hit Japanese automaker Nissan on Tuesday named Makoto Uchida, an insider currently heading its China unit, as new chief executive as it overhauls its leadership after the Carlos Ghosn scandal.