Asian Markets Trade Cautiously Higher as Traders Monitor Trade

Asian and Pacific Rim markets were cautiously higher as traders worry about economic growth and ongoing trade tensions between the United States and China. Last week was very volatile for the financial world as the trade spat between the two economic powerhouses intensified.

These worries sapped consumer confidence who switched risk sentiment off as Asian and regional traders looked for safe haven asset classes like gold and currencies like the yen and Swiss franc.

Trade volume, in the regional financial markets, was thin on Monday as the markets in Japan, India and Singapore were closed for public holidays.

In Australia, the Asian and Pacific Rim benchmark, the ASX 200 was trading down 0.4 percent before lunchtime. Mining plays lost ground as shares of Rio Tinto fell over 2.3 percent. Shares of Fortescue fell over three percent.

On the mainland, in China, the Shanghai composite was up 0.26 percent. The smaller Shenzhen composite rose 0.2 percent.

In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng index was up a fraction of a percent. Over the weekend, protests continued in Hong Kong. Today, Shares of Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific were down over four percent. China has demanded that the airline suspend staff who are participating in the ongoing protests.

Asian Traders continue to worry over Trade War Headlines

On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump jolted the global financial markets when he said that he was not ready to make any trade deal with China. He also indicated that the talks, scheduled for next month, might not happen.

However, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said that the U.S. is still planning to meet with the Chinese trade team next month.