Asian markets see-saw on unclear outlook

ASIAN markets continued to trade mixed in a see-saw session on Tuesday, swayed by changing sentiment on the US-China trade spat.

A Bloomberg report revealed that the US would put tariffs on all Chinese imports if November talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping don't bear fruit, sending Asian indices into the red in early trading. But US President Donald Trump contradicted the earlier report, saying in a Fox News interview that the US could get a "great" deal on trade with China, erasing early losses in many Asian markets.

Last week's sell-offs appear to be temporarily stemmed as Chinese regulators moved again to introduce measures to stabilise its markets, this time by way of encouraging share buybacks, mergers and acquisitions by listed firms. The measures sent the Shanghai Composite closing 1 per cent up.