Asia report: Most markets fall on latest Trump trade rhetoric

Markets in Asia finished mostly lower on Monday, with investors once again dealing with ongoing trade tensions between China and the US.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was down 0.79% at 22,338.15, as the yen strengthened 0.46% against the dollar to last trade at JPY 109.46.

The broader Topix index fell 0.95% in Tokyo to settle at 1,728.27.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite lost 1.04% to 2,859.77, and the smaller, technology-heavy Shenzhen Composite was down 0.63% at 1,587.30.

South Korea’s Kospi eked out gains of 0.03% to close at 2,357.88, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong slid 1.29% to 28,961.39.

Sentiment in the region took a hit early in the session as traders reacted to a weekend doubling-down from Donald Trump, who tweeted that other nations should remove all trade barriers or face yet another round of his punitive measures.

Last week, the US president requested officials to prepare a list of $200bn of Chinese exports to line them up for an additional 10% tariff.

“What is clear from weekend developments is that US president Trump is unlikely to stop any time soon on his tariffs threats,” noted analysts at OCBC Bank.

“China's policymakers are stepping up to counter the tariff tantrum with domestic stimulus measures.”

Oil price were mixed, with Brent crude last down 1.44% at $74.48 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate ahead 0.36% at $68.83.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was off 0.24% at 6,210.40, led lower by the hefty financials subindex - primarily the region’s major banks.

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group fell 1.05%, National Australia Bank was down 1.12% and Westpac Banking Corporation slipped 0.61%.

The country’s largest lender, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, ended the session down 2.3% after announcing a spin-out of its wealth management and mortgage broking division.

It also said it would carry out a strategic review of its general insurance operations, indicating the possibility of a sale.

Energy stocks were ahead, with the sector rising 1.55% and the oil majors all ahead - Oil Search rose 1.92%, Santos was up 1.68% and Woodside Petroleum added 1.54%.

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 was off 0.04% at 8,996.24, led lower by majority-state owned flag carrier Air New Zealand, which was down 2.6%.

Both of the down under dollars were weaker against the greenback, with the Aussie last off 0.28% at AUD 1.3477 and the Kiwi declining 0.23% to NZD 1.4504.