People crossing the streets of Shibuya, Tokyo.
Maydays | Moments | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Monday as investors assessed ongoing geopolitical concerns.
On Sunday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said his country would not pursue a free trade agreement with China after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose 100 per cent tariffs on Ottawa if it struck a trade deal with China.
“Canada honors our commitments, our commitments. We are committed under CUSMA (Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement) not to pursue free trade agreements with non-market economies without advance notice. We have no intention of doing anything like that with China or any other non-market economy,” Carney said.
Japanese Nikkei Stock Average fell 1.52%, and TOPIX fell 1.76%. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.64%, while the small-cap Kosdaq rose 2.28%.
The Japanese yen was last up 0.45%, trading at about 155.01 yen against the dollar.
Investors will continue to focus on Japanese stocks and the yen after Japan’s prime minister warned on Friday that authorities are prepared to take action if volatility intensifies, and to counter speculative market activity over the sharply rising yen.
“The yen strengthened on heightened intervention risks, which spilled over into the broader US dollar. The FOMC’s cautiously hawkish stance and resilient indicators should provide some support, but potential yen intervention could worsen the weak dollar flow situation,” Barclays economists said in a note on Sunday.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.26%, while the mainland’s CSI300 index rose 0.27%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.13%.
Amid geopolitical uncertainty, spot gold prices have soared to record highs of more than $5,000 an ounce as investors rushed into safe-haven assets, helped in part by a weaker dollar. The dollar index fell 0.52% to 90.087.
Separately, the Singapore dollar rose to $1.271, the highest in 10 years.
U.S. futures fell on Monday as traders braced for a crucial week ahead of important earnings reports and a U.S. monetary policy meeting.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 131 points, or 0.27%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.33% and 0.48%, respectively.
Major benchmarks ended mixed in the U.S. last Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average underperforming, while the Nasdaq Composite Index extended its gains as geopolitical concerns eased.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.28% to settle at 23,501.24, while the blue-chip Dow fell 285.30 points, or 0.58%, to close at 49,098.71. Goldman Sachs fell nearly 4%, weighing on the 30-stock index.
The market-wide S&P 500 index edged up 0.03% to end at 6,915.61.
—CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Pia Singh contributed to this report.
