Asian markets pull back on fears of prolonged trade standoff

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Asian markets fell in early trading Thursday, following Wall Street’s lead as the U.S. and China appeared to brace for a prolonged trade standoff.

After last week’s escalation of tariffs, no new trade talks have been scheduled, and many analysts suspect a breakthrough will require an intervention at the top before the Group of 20 major economies meets next month in Osaka, Japan.

“For a deal, there needs to be a Trump-Xi call, which would enable a useful Lighthizer visit to Beijing,” said Derek Scissors, a China specialist at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. “Then the two leaders could meet in Osaka and compromise on at least one major issue: reinvigorating the talks.”

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is talking to Walmart












WMT, +1.10%










  and other companies about finding ways to ease the pain if President Donald Trump goes ahead with plans to extend import taxes to the $300 billion in Chinese products that haven’t already been hit with tariffs, the Associated Press reported.

President Xi Jinping said China must prepare for difficult times, Reuters reported Wednesday, describing a “new Long March,” in which “we must overcome various major risks and challenges from home and abroad.”

Japan’s Nikkei












NIK, -0.82%










  fell 0.8%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index












HSI, -1.26%










  slid 1%. The Shanghai Composite












SHCOMP, -0.77%










  retreated 0.3% while the smaller-cap Shenzhen Composite












399106, -1.26%










  dropped 0.6%. South Korea’s Kospi












180721, -0.26%










  slipped 0.2%, and benchmark indexes in Taiwan












Y9999, -1.49%










 , Singapore












STI, -0.50%










  and Indonesia












JAKIDX, +1.39%










  were mixed. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200












XJO, -0.32%










  fell 0.3%.

Among individual stocks, SoftBank












9984, -5.68%










  tumbled in Tokyo trading after its U.K.-based ARM unit suspended business with Huawei. Sony












6758, -3.21%










  and Mitsubishi UFJ












8306, -1.22%










  also fell. In Hong Kong, Sunny Optical












2382, -4.62%










 , Tencent












700, -2.36%










  and Country Garden












2007, -2.40%










  sank. SK Hynix












000660, -1.60%










  declined in South Korea, but LG Electronics












066570, +2.74%










  rose. Foxconn












2354, -1.15%










  and Taiwan Semiconductor












2330, -3.15%










  slid in Taiwan. In Australia, BHP












BHP, -1.44%










  and Westpac












WBC, -2.57%










  retreated.

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Source : MTV