People crossing the street in Shibuya, Tokyo.
Maydays | Moment | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Monday as investors assessed ongoing geopolitical concerns.
On Sunday stateside, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said that the country is not pursuing free trade agreements with China without prior notification and has no intention of doing that, after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose 100% tariff if Canada strikes a trade deal with China.
“Canada respects our engagements, our commitments. We have commitments under CUSMA (Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement) that not to pursue free trade agreements with non-market economies without prior notification. We have no intention of doing that with China or with other non-market economy,” Carney said.
Spot gold prices rose to a record high above $5,000 per ounce as investors rush to safe-haven assets amid geopolitical uncertainties.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 slid 1.52%, while the Topix declined 1.76%. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.64% while the small-cap Kosdaq advanced 2.28%.
The Japanese yen last strengthened 0.45% to trade about 155.01 against the dollar.
Investors will continue keeping a close eye on Japanese stocks and the yen after Japan’s prime minister signaled to counter speculative market activity on a sharp yen strengthening Friday, warning that authorities stand ready to act if volatility intensifies.
“The yen rallied on rising risk of intervention, with spillovers to the broad USD. While a cautiously hawkish stance from the FOMC along with resilient data should offer some support, a potential yen intervention can aggravate a weak flow picture for the dollar,” Barclays’ economists wrote in a note late Sunday.
Hong Kong Hang Seng index slid 0.26%, while mainland’s CSI 300 added 0.27%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.13%.
Last Friday in the U.S., the main benchmarks closed mixed, as the Nasdaq Composite extended its gains amid easing geopolitical fears while the Dow Jones Industrial Average underperformed.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 0.28% and settled at 23,501.24, while the blue-chip Dow lost 285.30 points, or 0.58%, closing at 49,098.71. A nearly 4% slide in Goldman Sachs weighed on the 30-stock index.
The broad market S&P 500 eked out a marginal gain of 0.03% to end at 6,915.61.
—CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Pia Singh contributed to this report.
