Asian markets fall on dashed trade hopes

The STI erased all of its Friday gains, falling back 55.77 points or 1.8% to 3,060.62. Nearly all 30 of its constituent stocks fell, led by the banks

Published Mon, Nov 5, 2018 · 09:50 PM

ASIAN markets tumbled on Monday, tracking last Friday's late falls in US markets after White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow dashed hopes of a breakthrough in US-China trade relations.

US President Donald Trump's comments on Friday that he was likely to make a deal with China on trade had markets perking up and ending mostly higher last week. However, optimism dimmed when Mr Kudlow told CNBC before US markets closed that there was "no mass movement to deal with trade... We're not on the cusp of a deal".

In Monday's trading, the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong fell 2.08 per cent or 551.96 points to 25,934.39; Japan's Nikkei gave up 1.55 per cent or 344.67 points to close at 21,898.99.

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