FUNDAMENTALS
* Traders are monitoring any news on the talks as a deal to resolve the trade war could trigger accelerated commodities purchases by China, helping to reduce massive U.S. stockpiles of soybeans.
* Chinese Vice Premier Liu He will travel to Washington for two days of talks this week, China said on Tuesday, setting up a last-ditch bid for a deal that would avoid a sharp increase in tariffs on Chinese goods ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump.
* Soybeans were the single most valuable U.S. agricultural export crop and until the trade war China bought $12 billion-worth a year from U.S. farmers. The dispute, however, has slashed shipments of U.S. soy to China.
MARKET NEWS
* Asian equities tracked Wall Street's slide on Wednesday as the latest developments in the U.S.-China trade conflict fanned fresh fears about global growth, driving support for safe-haven government bonds.