Asian shares took a beating early Monday as market players braced for the long-due restart of US-China trade talks in the midst of predictions the two economic giants would fix their deteriorating economic relationship.
Stocks in mainland China were mixed on mid-day sessions, the Shanghai Composite dropped 0.13% to 2,941.01, while the Shenzhen Composite and Shenzhen Component eased up a few notches at 9,354.27 and 1,574.94, respectively.
Benchmark Hong Kong stocks dipped 1.1% to 28,121.31 after another weekend of disruptions in the mainland, where authorities repeatedly fired rubber bullets and teargas to repel demonstrators.
In South Korea, the Kospi was down 1.77% to settle at 2,029.47 - way lower than its final close third quarter of last year - as stocks of chipmaker SK Hynix shed 3.50%.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 lost 0.18% during early sessions to end at 21,616.79, as robotics company Fanuc's stock took a dive at 1.62%. The Topix likewise was down 0.18% to 1,568.49.
Stocks in New York also retreated to record peaks on Monday, as predictions for a cut in interest rates gain ground. The report also indicated U.S. market rally decreased in the spring, but fared better than analysts anticipated.
Shares of Softbank Group rose 3.89% after the conglomerate's Chief Executive Masayoshi Son disclosed to Nikkei that he sees initial public offerings (IPOs) of portfolio firms in its Vision Fund "nearly every month" by around early 2020.
Singapore's DBS Group, on the other hand, reported a 17% advance in Q2 sales pegged at $1.7 billion ($1.21 billion) against $1.38 billion from a year earlier, exceeding market projections. The company's stock was 0.81% lower during extended trade.
The European Central Bank (ECB) held major interest rates steady on Friday but clarified that more stimulus measures are coming. In Tokyo, the Bank of Japan started a 2-day stockholders meeting on Monday but is seen to keep rates steady as well.
On Wall Street, market players are all but sure the Federal Reserve will slash its benchmark short-term interest on Wednesday, possibly by 25% of a percentage point from a current market range of 2.24% to 2.51%.
In the energy sector, benchmark U.S. oil was down 17 cents to $56.03 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMex), but was up 18 cents to $56.20 per barrel on Friday. International standard Brent crude fell 31 cents to $63.05 per barrel.
In currencies, the US dollar dropped to 108.68 Japanese yen from 108.678 yen on Friday. The euro also fell $1.112 from $1.1128
Meanwhile, sales from China's industrial sector improved in June, the country's National Bureau of Statistics disclosed on Saturday. Industrial profits rose 3.0% in June from a year earlier, after a 1.0% rally from a month earlier.
