Asia Pacific markets up in early trade despite U.S.-China tensions
Asia Pacific markets rose in early trade on Monday, despite the heightened U.S.-China tensions in recent weeks.
South Korea’s Kospi index gained 0.43% as some of the big tech names advanced. Samsung Electronics shares rose 1.39%, LG Electronics gained 3.37% and SK Hynix was up 0.12%.
Automakers were also up: Hyundai Motor added 8.5% and Kia Motors was 4.14% higher.
In Australia, the benchmark ASX 200 was up 0.66%, with most sectors trading higher. The heavily weighted financials subindex was up 1.39% as major banks advanced, while resources producers traded mixed.
The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7166, rising from an earlier low around $0.7145.
Australia is also tackling a fresh wave of coronavirus outbreak in Victoria state, which accounts for the majority of reported cases and deaths in the country. In an effort to slow the spread of infection, the state has imposed strict lockdown measures limiting people’s movements and closed large parts of the economy.
Markets in Japan are closed Monday for a public holiday.
U.S.-China tensions
U.S. President Donald Trump last week issued executive orders that are set to ban American use of WeChat and TikTok, taking effect from the middle of next month.
Following that, the Trump administration said it will impose a fresh round of sanctions on 11 individuals, including Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam for her role in overseeing and “implementing Beijing’s policies of suppression of freedom and democratic processes.”
Administration officials have also urged Trump to delist Chinese firms that trade on U.S. exchanges and fail to meet U.S. auditing requirements by Jan. 2022, Reuters reported last week.
Reference: CNBC
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