Asian equities were mixed as investors kept an eye on intensifying trade tensions between the U.S. and China

Asian equities ended today’s trading session in mixed territories as investors kept an eye on intensifying trade tensions between the U.S. and China.

Over in the Chinese Mainland, the Shanghai Composite fell by 1.26 percent to close the session at 2,705.84 pressured by mainly Healthcare, Technology and Consumer Non-Cyclicals sectors. Furthermore, the Shenzhen Composite moderately tumbled 2.08 percent to end the session in the red at 1,521.15 downed by all sectors.

The South Korean benchmark KOSPI fell by 0.05 percent to end the session at 2,286.50 Pressured by Technology, Utilities and Industrials sectors.

On the other hand, Hong Kong’s main benchmark Hang Seng rose by 0.52 percent to trade at 27,819.56 at the session’s close, supported by gains in the Utilities, Technology and Financials sectors.

In economic news, China’s central bank said it would set a reserve requirement ratio of 20 percent from Monday on financial institutions settling foreign exchange forward dollar sales to clients, effectively raising the cost for investors of betting against the Yuan.

Japanese Stock Market

Japanese stocks traded lower on today’s session as the primary Japanese index Nikkei fell by 0.08 percent to close in the reed at 22,507.32, pressured by Financials, Industrials and Basic Materials sectors.

In the market, Taisei Corp was the worst performer in the session as it lost 12.11 percent, followed by Sapporo Holdings Ltd that dropped 9.31 percent. On the other side, Pacific Metals Co was the best performer in the session surging 15.23 percent.

In the currency market, the Japanese Yen fell against the Greenback to trade in the red at 111.43 USDJPY at 10:30 GMT.

Australian Stock Market

Australian shares rose on Monday’s session as the country’s main index S&P/ASX200 gained 0.61 percent or 38.2 points to end the session in the green at 6,273.00. Supported by gains in the Basic Materials, Telecom Services, and Financials sectors.

Meanwhile, Mining heavyweights BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto rose 2.2 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively. Commonwealth Bank of Australia gained one percent ahead of its annual results due on Wednesday. Galaxy Resources was the best performer in the session adding more than three percent. The company said its agreement with Posco for the sale of certain Argentinean assets was ahead of schedule.

Meanwhile, (Amcor)  the Packaging company has requested a trading halt, pending an announcement about an acquisition.

In the Forex Market, the Aussie fell against the Greenback to trade lower at 0.7388 AUDUSD at 10:30 GMT.