MARKETS: Asia started the week with a small gain – Trump hints at the postponement of the China summit

In Asia, the stock market started the week down again.

Japan’s Nikkei was down 0.2 percent and the broader Topix was down 0.4 percent.

In mainland China, the CSI 300 was down 0.2 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, on the other hand, rose 1.3 percent, led by technology stocks.

A technology conglomerate Tencentin the stock was up 2.8 percent and Xiaomin share up 5.3 percent.

President of the United States Donald Trump threatened the financial magazine of the Financial Times in an interview to postpone the summit with the President of China Xi Jinpingin with if China does not help secure the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has closed an important sea route for international oil transport in response to the ongoing war.

Trump and Xi are scheduled to meet in China at the end of March.

According to economic figures released in China on Monday, the country’s economy started the year stronger than expected, as several key economic indicators exceeded forecasts. According to data published by the National Statistics Office, industrial production grew by 6.3 percent year-on-year in January–February, which is the fastest growth since last September.

Sectors dependent on domestic demand also showed signs of recovery. Retail sales increased by 2.8 percent in the first two months, which is more than triple the pace compared to December.

On the oil market, the price of Brent oil was around 104 dollars per barrel on Monday. Meanwhile, the price of West Texas Intermediate oil was below 99 dollars per barrel.

At 8:33 a.m. one euro was worth 1.14 dollars, 182.1 yen, 0.86 pounds and 10.8 Swedish kronor. The dollar was 159 yen and the pound was 1.32 dollars.

An upward opening is expected for the United States on Monday, based on index futures. An upswing in Europe is also expected.