Modupe Gbadeyanka
By Investors Hub
Asian stocks ended mixed on Monday after remarks from U.S. Vice President Mike Pence at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit on Saturday added to anxiety over the U.S.-China trade war.
Pence said the U.S. would not back down from its trade dispute until China changes its ways. The stark warning dampened investor hopes for a thaw in U.S.-Chinese trade relations ahead of the G20 summit later this month in Argentina.
Comments from two U.S. Federal Reserve officials cautioning about global economic growth and a CIA report concluding that Saudi Arabia’s powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was behind the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi also kept investors nervous.
China?s Shanghai Composite Index advanced 0.9 percent to close at a fresh one-month high of 2,703.51, helped by gains by financials and property developers. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed up 0.7 percent at 26,372.
Japanese shares rebounded from last week’s sell-off, with chip-related stocks outperforming. The Nikkei 225 Index climbed or 0.7 percent to 21,821.16 after losing 2.6 percent last week. The broader Topix Index closed 0.5 percent higher at 1,637.61.
Tech stocks bounced back after heavy losses last week following Nvidia?s disappointing earnings. Advantest gained 2.2 percent, Tokyo Electron rallied 3.6 percent and Screen Holdings jumped 3.7 percent.
Lower U.S. yields weighed on the banking sector, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group ending down around 2 percent.
In economic news, Japan posted a merchandise trade deficit of 449.3 billion yen in October, a government report showed, missing forecasts for a deficit of 70.0 billion yen following the 131.3 billion yen surplus in September.
Exports were up an annual 8.2 percent, shy of expectations for an increase of 8.9 percent, while imports surged up 19.9 percent versus forecasts for 14.1 percent
Meanwhile, Australian stocks fell notably, dragged down by financial and energy companies. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 0.6 percent to 5,693.70, while the broader All Ordinaries Index also ended down 0.6 percent at 5,786.40.
Energy stocks such as Origin Energy, Woodside Petroleum and Santos fell over 1 percent after U.S. crude prices posted their sixth straight weekly loss. Viva Energy Group tumbled 12.2 percent after the company lowered its profit forecast for the 2018 financial year.
The big four banks fell between 0.6 percent and 0.8 percent as the royal commission’s final public hearing kicked off. Health insurer Medibank Private slumped 6.1 percent after losing a defense contract.
Myer Holdings plunged 8.9 percent as it resumed trading after being forced into a trading halt on Friday amid reports that it may have breached disclosure rules by failing to provide details of the extent of its sales decline.
On the other hand, mining heavyweights BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto ended marginally higher amid stronger metal prices. Gold miner Evolution Mining jumped nearly 3 percent after gold prices rose on Friday.
Fairfax Media rallied 2.4 percent after the company’s shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favor of the merger with Nine Entertainment. Nine Entertainment shares advanced 1.8 percent.
