Markets in Asia opened the second quarter mixed on Monday, driven by the rising tension happening on the North and South Korea along with lower U.S. equities last week.
Japanese benchmark Nikkei 225 started higher in previous trade by 0.13 percent. The Bank of Japan Tankan’s quarterly poll showed that big Japanese producers sentiment was lower than expected by attaining +12 versus Reuters survey prediction of +14. The countries service sector perceived an improvement by +20.
ASX 200 in Australia was lower by 0.29 percent because of its deteriorating materials sub-index, and the South Korean benchmark Kospi gained 0.17 percent.
K Bank, South Korea’s first ever digital bank, opened its doors on Monday and will grant its customers to open a bank account. In addition to its features, new customers can also apply for a loan on smartphones.
The United States will take an one sided action to throw out North Korea’s nuclear threats, except if China, one of Uncle Sam’s trusted ally, aggravates pressure on Pyongyang, according to U.S. President Donald Trump remark on Financial Times. The comments were already released before this week’s two-day conference with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Florida.
The dollar index, which measures the value of the U.S dollar relative to a basket of foreign currencies, traded stable at 100.43. It was surpassed by the Japanese yen by it settling at 111.18, dropping from Friday’s high levels of 111.18. The Australian dollar yielded $0.7629.
Meanwhile on U.S. markets, the S&P 500 ended lower by 0.31 percent at 2,362.72, the NASDAQ composite dropped 0.04 percent at 5,911.74, and the Dow Jones industrial average was down by 0.31 percent to settle at 20,663.22.