Asian Traders Cautious Monitoring Trade Comments

Asian and Pacific Rim traders were exhibiting caution on Monday as the trade week kicked off. Asian traders are monitoring trade commentary.

The Asian and Pacific Rim equity markets were mixed heading into the afternoon, on Monday, as traders looked at developments surrounding trade talks between the United States and China.

In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225, was up 0.22 percent. The broader Topix index, in Tokyo, added a fraction of a percent.

In South Korea, the headline Kospi composite index was down 0.33 percent by lunchtime. In Australia, the S&P ASX 200 was down a quarter of a percent. Most sub-sectors on the Australian benchmark were in the red.

In Hong Kong, unrest continued as police clashed with protestors on university campuses. The police warned that they would use live ammunition if met with violence.

The Hang Seng index was up over three quarters of a percent as shares of China’s Tencent added 1.38 percent.

On the mainland, in China, by the afternoon the headline benchmarks were trading in the red. The Shanghai composite lose 0.11 percent and the smaller Shenzhen composite fell 0.12 percent. The Shenzhen component was also fractionally lower by lunchtime.

Asian Traders React to Trade War Commentary and Remain Cautious

This morning, according to Xinhua, China’s state owned media company, China and the United States have had “constructive talks.” These discussions occurred during a high level trade call over the weekend. The Xinhua news outlet gave no further details.

The “Phase One” trade agreement, between the world’s two largest economic powers, was expected to be completed and signed on the sidelines of the Asian-Pacific summit in Chile.

This summit, thanks to political unrest, in Chile, was cancelled as domestic riots made safety a concern. Since then headlines have surfaced that there is still work to be done. Both China and the United States have not bridged gaps surrounding thorny issues including winding down tariffs.