In Asian Equity Markets indices were largely lower on Monday as U.S.-China trade tensions weighed on investor sentiment. In South Korea, the Kospi saw losses of 0.49 percent in morning trade, with industry heavyweight Samsung Electronics sliding further by 0.98 percent. Greater China markets were also largely in negative territory during the early hours of trade, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index falling by 1.18 percent after its recovery late last week. Down Under, the ASX 200 bucked the overall trend to trade slightly up.

In Currency Markets the US dollar held above a recent 1-1/2 month trough against a basket of major currencies on Monday, with investors cautiously awaiting news on the implementation of U.S. tariffs on an additional $200 billion of Chinese imports. The euro was last at $1.1624, down from a three-week top of $1.1721 set on Friday. The pound also retreated, falling from last week’s peak of $1.3145 to trade at $1.3071. The Australian dollar was last down 0.1 percent at $0.7146, not far from a recent 2-1/2 year trough of $0.7085.

In Commodities Markets global oil prices eased in early Asian trading on Monday on concerns that the United States is poised to impose additional tariffs on China, outweighing supply fears from upcoming sanctions on Iran. Brent crude oil futures fell 16 cents, or 0.2 percent to $77.93 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures fell 20 cents or 0.3 percent, to $68.79 a barrel. Also weighing on oil prices, U.S. drillers added two oil rigs last week, bringing the total count up to 749, the highest since September.

In US Equity Markets stocks ended little changed on Friday as financials gained with bond yields, while news that President Donald Trump instructed aides to proceed with tariffs on about $200 billion more of Chinese products limited gains. For the week, the Dow was up 0.9 percent, the S&P 500 was up 1.2 percent and the Nasdaq rose 1.4 percent. Shares of insurer Travelers were up 0.9 percent as analysts cut loss estimates from Hurricane Florence as the storm weakened. Adobe Systems rose 2.3 percent, a day after the company topped quarterly revenue and profit expectations.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields retreated on Friday on reports President Donald Trump has instructed aides to proceed with tariffs on about $200 billion more Chinese goods, despite Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s attempts to restart trade talks with China. Yields at the long end of the curve made the biggest moves. The yield on the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury note fell by as much as 2.2 basis points after earlier breaking above the key technical level of 3 percent for the first time since early August.