Asia report: Markets down as trade war and Hong Kong protests weigh on sentiment
Asian markets largely fell on Monday as trade tensions between the US and China continued to weigh on investor sentiment across the region, while continued clashes between protesters and police in Hong Kong exacerbated the bad feeling.
Though sentiment was initially slightly boosted by the news that US and Chinese negotiators will meet this week in Shanghai to further discuss ending their long-running tariff war, investors' expectations that any swift resolution can be reached is very low.
Stephen Innes, managing partner at Vanguard Markets Singapore, said: "In addition to the negative local economic fall out in Hong Kong, there remains a considerable concern that the US may step in with a pro-democracy messaging supporting the rally. If they do, it would not only throw this week’s trade discussion into disarray but could jeopardise bilateral trade negotiations going forward."
Japan's Nikkei 225 finished the session down 0.19% at 21,616.80 as the index was hit by a bout of profit-taking, with electronics giants Sony and Hitachi falling by 1.58% and 2.59% respectively.
The Japanese yen was 0.05% higher against the US dollar at JPY108.63.
China's Shanghai Composite fell 0.12% to 2,941.01, while the tech-heavy Shenzhen Composite edged 0.09% higher to 1,574.95 as new data from the country's National Bureau of Statistics showed that industrial profits fell 3.1% in June from a year earlier, following a 1.1% gain in May.
Furen Group Pharmaceutical Co fell by 10.05%, Bomesc Offshore Engineering Co lost 9.66% and Shaanxi Construction Machinery Co dropped by 7.47%.
The Hong Kong Hang Seng index fell 1.09% to 28,106.41, with real estate developers such as Link Real Estate Development and New World Development racking up significant losses after another day of clashes between protesters and police.
South Korea's Kospi slipped 1.78% to 2,029.48 as industry bellwether Samsung finished the session 2.23% lower and major chipmaker SK Hynix fell 3.51%.
Brent Crude was down 0.52% at $63.13, while WTI was 0.30% lower at $56.03.
Down under, the main stock market index's bucked the regional trend, as the Australian S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.48% to 6,825.80, just three points below the index's record high.
Tech stocks drove the market higher, mirroring the success of their counterparts on Wall Street during the previous week, with Altium, Afterpay and Appen all climbing by between 3.13% and 3.39%.
Meanwhile, New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 climbed 0.40% to 10,851.36 after a strong set of results from Australian baby formula maker Bubs sent Synlait and A2 Milk, New Zealand's major dairy players, up by 1.1% and 2.7% respectively.
Finally, the Australian dollar remained flat against the US dollar, up upwards against its American counterpart by just 0.01% to A$1.45, while New Zealand's dollar fell 0.13% against the greenback to NZ$1.51.