Asian and Pacific Rim markets were mostly in the red by noon during Monday’s trade session. This is the last full day of trading for 2019.
Tomorrow, Asian and global markets will open for shorten sessions before New Year’s Eve.
In Japan, the headline Nikkei 225 was down nearly half a percent. Across the Korean Strait, in South Korea, the Kospi composite index reversed early gains to hover above and below the flat line.
Elsewhere in the Asian and Pacific Rim, the benchmark Australian bourse, the S&P ASX 200 was down 0.54 percent. Most of the sub-indices were lower on Monday.
On the mainland, in China, the headlines indices were all lower by lunchtime. The Shanghai composite fell 0.3 percent. The smaller Shenzhen composite edged lower as shares gave up 0.12 percent. Shares on the Shenzhen component fell 0.44 percent.
China’s central bank, the Peoples’ Bank of China (PBOC) has said that they will use the loan prime rate as the new rate to price current floating rate loans. The PBOC says this is being done to lower borrowing costs for businesses and spur economic growth and activity.
At the time of this report, traders are still waiting on Hong Kong to publish trade data for the month of November.
The Hang Seng index was down a fraction of a percent. Technology stocks were on the defensive as shares of China’s Tencent were down 0.47 percent.
Asian Traders Monitor Trade News as Sentiment Improves
As last week ended, China said they were still in close contact with their trade contacts in the United States. Both economic powerhouses are still finalizing the last details before signing a preliminary trade accord that should end a trade war that has lasted for well over a year.
China’s comments follow President Donald Trump who said he was expecting a signing ceremony for the “phase one” trade agreement between China and the United States very soon.