Shares in Asia were mostly lower on Monday as investors watched for developments on the U.S.-China trade front
Markets in Tokyo were shuttered for holidays.
The Japanese yen traded at 107.74 against the U.S. dollar after seeing lows above 108.3 in the previous trading week.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index dropped 213.27 points, or 0.8%, to close at 26,435.67.
Shares of companies related to China’s Fosun saw declines, following the collapse of the world’s oldest travel firm Thomas Cook — the Chinese conglomerate is the largest shareholder in the British firm. Fosun Tourism dropped 4.4% and Fosun International declined 1.3%.
Shares of oil companies regionally were mixed. Hong Kong-listed shares of China’s CNOOC slipped 1% as of their final hour of trading.
Australia’s Beach Energy jumped 2% and Santos gained 0.6%, while South Korea’s S-Oil rose 0.5%.
Australian markets eked higher. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6772 after declining from levels above $0.685 last week.
CHINA
In China, the CSI 300 lost 44.99 points, or 1.1%, to 3,890.66
On the trade front, China’s Ministry of Commerce said over the weekend that economic and trade teams from the two economic powerhouses held “constructive” discussions in Washington late last week. They added that both the U.S. and China agreed to maintain in contact.
Shares stateside had slipped last Friday after the Chinese delegation canceled a visit to U.S. farms in Montana and Beijing officials headed back to China earlier than planned, dampening expectations of a trade deal being reached.
In other markets
In Korea, the Kospi index eked higher 0.18 points to 2,091.70
In Taiwan, the Taiex Index dropped 10.67 points, or 0.1%, to 10,919.02
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index sank 16.44 points, or 0.5%, to 3,143.24.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 added 43.94 points, or 0.4%, to 10,873.33
In Australia, the ASX 200 moved higher 18.97 points, or 0.3%, to 6,749.72
