Asian stocks were mixed on Monday after last week’s market turmoil stateside.
Markets in Japan were closed for holiday
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index lost 102.04 points, or 0.4%, to 25,651.38, as shares of Chinese tech giant Tencent shed 1.5%
Korean stocks were negative, despite industry heavyweight Samsung Electronics gaining 0.4%, and chipmaker SK Hynix picking up 0.7%
Australian markets finished higher, with almost all sectors seeing gains.
The heavily weighted financial subindex saw gains of 0.4%, as shares of Australia’s so-called Big Four banks rose. Commonwealth Bank of Australia advanced 0.3% Westpac gained 0.1%, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group climbed up by 0.3% while National Australia Bank rose 0.3%.
The Japanese yen, widely seen as a safe haven currency, traded at 111.05 to the U.S. dollar after touching lows around 113.5 in the previous trading week. The Australian dollar was at $0.7061 U.S. after seeing highs around $0.720 last week.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 gained 8.8 points, or 0.3%, to 3,038.20
China’s Ministry of Commerce said on Sunday that vice-ministerial level talks on issues such as the balance of trade and strengthening of intellectual property protections had been held earlier with the U.S. last week.
In a statement posted on its website, the ministry said the two sides had a "deep exchange" of views and achieved new progress. It also said both parties held discussions around their next call and the reciprocal visits.
In other markets
In Taiwan, the Taiex index slipped 6.46 points, or 0.1%, to 9,639.70
In Korea, the Kospi index dropped 6.48 points, or 0.3%, at 2,055.01
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index regained 5.02 points, or 0.2%, to 3,051.06
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 recovered 28.32 points, or 0.3%, to 8,714.51
In Australia, the ASX 200 regained 26.16 points, or 0.5%, to 5,493.80
