People crossing the street in Shibuya, Tokyo.
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Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Monday as investors assessed ongoing geopolitical concerns.
On Sunday stateside, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said that his country has no intention of pursuing a free trade agreement with China, after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose 100% tariffs on Ottawa if it signed a trade deal with China.
“Canada respects our engagements, our commitments. We have commitments under CUSMA (Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement) that not to pursue free trade agreements with non-market economies without prior notification. We have no intention of doing that with China or with other non-market economy,” Carney said.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 slid 1.52%, while the Topix declined 1.76%. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.64% while the small-cap Kosdaq advanced 2.28%.
The Japanese yen last strengthened 0.45% to trade about 155.01 against the dollar.
Investors will continue keeping a close eye on Japanese stocks and the yen after Japan’s prime minister signaled to counter speculative market activity on a sharp yen strengthening Friday, warning that authorities stand ready to act if volatility intensifies.
“The yen rallied on rising risk of intervention, with spillovers to the broad USD. While a cautiously hawkish stance from the FOMC along with resilient data should offer some support, a potential yen intervention can aggravate a weak flow picture for the dollar,” Barclays’ economists wrote in a note on Sunday.
Hong Kong Hang Seng index slid 0.26%, while mainland’s CSI 300 added 0.27%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.13%.
Spot gold prices rose to a record high above $5,000 per ounce as investors rush to safe-haven assets amid geopolitical uncertainties, also helped by a weaker greenback. The U.S. dollar index fell 0.52% to 90.087.
Separately, the Singapore dollar strengthened to 1.271 per dollar, its highest in over a decade.
Last Friday in the U.S., the main benchmarks closed mixed, as the Nasdaq Composite extended its gains amid easing geopolitical fears while the Dow Jones Industrial Average underperformed.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 0.28% and settled at 23,501.24, while the blue-chip Dow lost 285.30 points, or 0.58%, closing at 49,098.71. A nearly 4% slide in Goldman Sachs weighed on the 30-stock index.
The broad market S&P 500 eked out a marginal gain of 0.03% to end at 6,915.61.
—CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Pia Singh contributed to this report.
