Daily Times

oioilMost Asian share markets slipped on Monday as investors waited for more clarity on Sino-US trade talks, while oil gained more than 1per cent as Middle East tensions remained elevated.

Market sentiment was fragile with civil unrest in Hong Kong, tensions in the Middle East and worries a trade deal between the United States and China could take a long time to materialize. Moves were further exaggerated by low volumes as Japanese markets were shut for a public holiday.

The dour mood was likely to spread elsewhere with pan-region Euro Stoxx 50 futures easing 0.3per cent in early European trade and Germany’s DAX futures off 0.2per cent. London’s FTSE futures were, however, a tad higher.

Chinese shares were in the red, with Shanghai’s SSE Composite stumbling 1.5per cent while the blue-chip index was down 1.65per cent.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was 0.8per cent weaker after a weekend of sometimes violent protests that saw pro-democracy activists vandalize a railway station and shopping mall.

South Korea’s KOSPI ended flat after spending most of the day in negative territory following disappointing trade data while Australian and New Zealand shares bucked the trend to finish 0.3per cent and 0.4per cent higher, respectively.

That left MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan down 0.2per cent at 510.04 points. It is still up more than 3per cent so far in September.

“There are real concerns about the impact on economies from the trade dispute,” said Michael McCarthy, Sydney-based strategist at CMC Markets. “People are probably getting an idea that this will be a long negotiation. And the longer it lingers the more impact it will have economically.”

Despite the weakness in Asia, E-mini futures for US S&P 500 and the Dow climbed nearly 0.4per cent each.

Over the weekend, the US Trade Representative’s office issued a brief statement characterizing the two days of talks with China as “productive.” It added that a principal-level trade meeting in Washington would take place in October, as previously planned.

China’s Commerce Ministry, in a brief statement, described the talks as “constructive”, and said they had also had a good discussion on “detailed arrangements” for the high-level talks in October.

Additionally, the United States removed tariffs from more than 400 Chinese products in response to requests from US companies.

Despite the improved tone, markets still remain unconvinced about the possibility of an imminent deal.

Investors were rattled by news on Friday that Chinese officials unexpectedly canceled a visit to US farms this week following their two days of negotiations in Washington.

One Shanghai-based analyst at Tebon Securities said the cancellation had hit investor sentiment and could be a major drag on Chinese A-shares in the near term.

News that five Yemeni civilians were killed in air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition further soured investor appetite.