Asian Market Review

Markets in Asia have opened on a mixed note Monday as investors watch cautiously for positive developments on the U.S-China trade front, while Japan’s markets are closed for the Autumnal Equinox.

In Australia the S&P/ASX 200 has climbed 0.4% higher in morning trade. The big four banks are mixed, with ANZ gaining 0.3% and Westpac 0.6% higher, while Commonwealth Bank has slipped less than 0.1% and NAB is 0.3% lower. With crude making gains the oil shares are doing well. Woodside Petroleum is up 1.3%, Oil Search has gained 1.5%, and Beach Energy has jumped 2.5% in early trade. Major miners are also gaining, with Rio Tinto trading 0.7% higher, and BHP posting a smaller 0.1% advance.

Mainland China’s investors aren’t as upbeat today, with markets there opening to the downside. The large cap Shanghai Composite has a loss of 0.3%, while the smaller cap Shenzhen Composite trades 0.3% lower as well. Over in Hong Kong the Hang Seng has opened to gains once again, trading 0.1% higher, but with no guarantee it will hold those gains through the close as the threat of protests has seen the index give up gains several times in the past week.

In South Korea the Kospi is trading flat with a slight gain of less than 0.1%, and in Taiwan the Taiex has opened to a small gain of 0.1%.

Southeast Asian markets are mixed, but nearly flat as the Straits Times in Singapore has a gain of less than 0.1%, while Malaysia’s KLCI has a loss of less than 0.1%.