Major Asian stock markets closed lower on Monday following a turbulent trading session as investors waited for a new round of high-level U.S.-China trade talks, which is set to begin later in the week.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 erased 124.56 points, or 0.6%, to 20,649. Shares of Japanese conglomerate Softbank Group declined more than 1.2%
The Japanese yen, widely seen as a safe-haven currency, traded at 109.33 against the U.S. dollar after seeing lows above 109.8 in the previous trading week.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index inched up 7.77 points to 27,576.96, with shares of Chinese tech giant Tencent slipping more than 0.5%.
South Korea’s Kospi closed largely flat as shares of Samsung Electronics rose 0.7%. Other tech stocks, however, struggled for gains: Chipmaker SK Hynix fell 3.8%, LG Electronics declined 2.6% and Samsung SDI was down 0.2%.
The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7190 U.S. after touching lows below $0.710 last week.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 eased 0.69 points to 3,183.78
China is set to send a delegation led by Vice Premier Liu He to Washington for a fresh round of high level trade talks later this week.
Investors will be watching for any important developments on the U.S.-China trade front, with the two sides racing to strike a deal before a deadline in early March. Beijing and Washington have been locked in an ongoing trade war, which saw both sides slap tariffs on each other’s goods.
In other markets
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index slipped 2.75 points, or 0.1%, to 3,199.50
In Korea, the Kospi index dropped 0.43 points to 2,177.30
In Taiwan, the Taiex index gained 43.72 points, or 0.4%, to 10,013.33
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 inched higher 3.97 points to 9,114.52
Australia’s stock market was closed on Monday for a public holiday.
