Asian shares started the week on the backfoot on Monday as worries about global growth, U. S. politics and the ongoing Sino-U. S. tariff war kept investors cautious, while the safe-haven greenback held near a six-week top against major currencies.
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Asian shares started the week on the backfoot on Monday as worries about global growth, U. S. politics and the ongoing Sino-U. S. tariff war kept investors cautious, while the safe-haven greenback held near a six-week top against major currencies.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was a tad weaker after it was toppled from a four-month top on Friday.
Trading volumes are expected to be thin with Japan on public holiday, while Chinese markets reopen after a week-long break for the Lunar New Year holiday.
World stocks ended last week in the red amid uncertainty about global economic growth and trade tensions, posting their first weekly drop this year.
Still, Wall Street’s main equity indexes recouped losses late on Friday, with the benchmark S&P 500 ending marginally positive and the Nasdaq adding 0.14 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.25 percent.
