Asian market tracked negative lead from the US counterparts, after all three main New York indexes ending in the red as Mr Trump's struggles continue. Investors were fretting over the outlook for Trump's plans on tax reform and other pro-business measures, as his support from corporate America has evaporated following his heavily criticised response to a white supremacist rally in Virginia on August 12.
There are fears Mr Trump's promises of tax reform and other pro-business measures will not see the light of day, with his support from corporate America damaged by his much-criticised response to a white supremacist rally in Virginia last weekend. The White House turmoil continued Friday after his top adviser Steve Bannon was dismissed - marking the fifth high-profile casualty in Trump's inner circle in just six months. There has also been talk that his economic adviser Gary Cohn would step down, further dragging confidence.
Also, investor sentiment dampened due to geopolitical concerns as US-South Korea military drills begin. As per reports, joint US-South Korea military exercises take place from 21 August to 31 August 2017. This exercise comes on the back of a ramp up in geopolitical tensions earlier this month after a heated exchange of rhetoric between President Donald Trump and Pyongyang.
Central bank heads from around the world will descend on Jackson Hole, Wyoming this week for an annual conference, which will be tracked for clues about future policy, with the eurozone's top banker Mario Draghi of interest as the bloc's economy picks up the pace.
Among Asian bourses
Australia Stocks end in the red
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Australian equity market tumbled on first trading session of the week, as risk sentiments weakened on tracking drop on Wall Street last Friday amid increasing doubts about the Trump administration's ability to deliver its economic agenda. At the close, the S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.55%. Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 686 to 483 and 376 ended unchanged. The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was up 6.34% to 14.932.
Financial stocks were the biggest drag on mirroring a reflection of the sell-off we saw in the United States, with the "Big Four" banks - Westpac, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group down between 0.6% and 1.3%.
The healthcare sector was dragged down by a 1.4% and 1.9% fall in shares of CSL and Sonic Healthcare respectively.
The metals and mining index clocked minor gains, supported by firm commodity prices. China's iron ore futures climbed nearly 7% on Friday and oil prices continued to extend gains from last week. Major miners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto gained as much as 1% and 1.6%, respectively. Fortescue Metals Group gained as much as 6.7% after the company reported a 113% rise in full-year net profit.
BlueScope Steel tumbled 22.6% after downgrading its earnings forecast and revealing that it was the subject of an ACCC investigation. BlueScope expected net profit for first half of FY2018 to be lower than second half of FY2017.
Nikkei drops on weak global cues
The Japan share market finished down for fourth session in row, following some sizable declines worldwide at the end of last week, with financial and export-dependent stocks being notable losers. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average dropped 77.28 points, or 0.4%, to 19,393.13, marking its lowest close since early May. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, closed 2.17 points, or 0.14%, lower at 1,595.19. Rising issues outpaced falling ones by 1,038 to 852 on the First Section. On the main section on Monday, 1,406.90 million shares changed hands, dropping from Friday's volume of 1,671.73 million shares. The turnover on the first trading day of the week came to 1,753.4 billion yen.
The stronger yen battered export-dependent stocks. Game giant Nintendo was down 0.8% at 35,810 yen, while Sony dipped 1.3% to 4,170 yen.
Financial stocks such as banks, securities and insurers were lower, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group dropping 1.3%, Nomura Holdings sliding 1.9% and Dai-ichi Life Holdings falling 1.6%.
Bucking the weaker broader trend, mining shares rose, with Inpex Corp advancing 1.5% and Japan Petroleum Exploration Co adding 0.6% after oil prices held on to Friday's big gains.
Japan's major maritime shipper Nippon Yusen KK soared 1.9% after reports that the company is preparing to resume dividend payments for the current fiscal year, after no payouts were offered last year. The company secured cash by transferring funds from capital surplus to retained earnings in June, the reports said.
China Market gains; Unicom, Chalco leads
The Mainland China equity market ended higher, with investor optimism over strong corporate earnings and gains in telecoms group China Unicom after the country's securities regulator granted special dispensation to its $11.7 billion ownership reform plan. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.6% to 3,286.9 at the close, extending a 1.9% gain last week. The CSI 300 Index advanced 0.4% to 3,741.
China Unicom Network Communications surged by the daily limit of 10%. Its shares had been suspended since April 5. The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said late on Sunday that it would treat as "an exceptional case" a plan by China Unicom Network Communications to tap more than a dozen major investors, including Alibaba Group, Tencent Holdings and Baidu, for funding.
China United, the nation's second largest mobile-phone operator that owns Hong Kong-listed China Unicom, is the latest state owned enterprise (SOE) to undergo a revamp after the merger of the country's two biggest makers of high-speed trains three years ago. Creating bigger state players and introducing outside strategic investors serve President Xi Jinping's goal of bolstering profitability and efficiency of China's bloated SOEs. China United jumped 10% to 8.2 yuan, as the stock resumed trading after being suspended since April. The company said in a statement that strategic investors including Tencent Holdings and Baidu will buy up to 9 billion shares in the company for 61.7 billion yuan (US$9.3 billion)
Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) was up 7.7% after its president said it had raised output to take advantage of capacity cuts at private rivals. Chalco's announced last week that first-half net profit rose more than tenfold year-on-year, driven by high aluminium prices.
Joyoung, the nation's biggest maker of soybean-milk machines, soared 10% to 20.13 yuan and Yantai Zhenghai Magnetic Material jumped 10% to 11.83 yuan. The two companies' interim results showed China's pension fund has emerged as their major shareholders in the second quarter. It was the first time that the nation's pension fund showed up as listed companies' substantial shareholders after it was allowed to invest in mainland-listed shares, with the initial investment estimated at 15 billion yuan.
Hong Kong Stocks end higher
The Hong Kong stock market finished up, registering first gains in the last three sessions, with expectations for ownership reform at Chinese state-owned companies helping lift mainland companies in the city. The Hang Seng Index advancing 0.4%, or 107.1 points, to 27,154.7, while Hang Seng China Enterprises Index also gaining 0.5% to 10,751.5. Turnover decreased slightly to HK$81.88 billion from HK$84.5 billion on Friday.
AAC Technologies Holdings advanced ended up 4.7% to HK$117.5, registering the gauge's biggest%age gainer of the day on expectations over its first-half earnings. Credit Suisse Group raised the rating of a supplier of Apple to outperform from neutra, citing valuation laggards in the sector and potential new designs.
Oil producer company Cnooc ended up 3.9% to HK$9, the biggest contributor to the index's point gains, after a jump in crude oil prices Friday.
China Unicom (00762) surged 3.5% to HK$12.36 after the China Securities Regulatory Commission approved the company's proposed mixed ownership reform.
Sunace China Holding, the property developer owned by Sun Hongbin, ended up 6.7% to HK$19.1 after saying first-half profit may have jumped more than 15 times from a year earlier on project acquisitions and an increase in profit margin.
Ping An (02318) edged up 0.7% to HK$69.65. The insurer reported its interim earnings on Thursday. Both Macquarie Research and BOCI raised their respective target prices for the insurer.
Macau gaming counters were generally softer. Galaxy Entertainment (00027) edged down 0.8% to HK$47.3. SJM Holdings (00880) dipped 2.2% to HK$6.79.
Sensex slides on weak global cues
Indian stock market registered losses, extending previous trading session's slide. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 265.83 points or 0.84% to settle at 31,258.85. The Nifty 50 index fell 83.05 points or 0.84% to settle at 9,754.35. Weakness in global stocks weighed on sentiment on the domestic bourses. Sharp fall in software pivotal Infosys also weighed on key indices. Pharma stocks declined.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Urjit Patel on Saturday, 19 August 2017 reportedly called for recapitalisation of state-run banks to help them resolve the non-performing assets (NPAs) issue in a time-bond manner. The government and the RBI are working together to comprehensively address the issue of NPAs through a multi-pronged approach, Urjit Patel reportedly said.
ICICI Bank fell 0.02% at Rs 293 after the bank announced revision in interest rates on savings bank accounts with effect from 19 August 2017. Interest rate on deposits below Rs 50 lakh revised to 3.5%. Interest rate on deposits of Rs 50 lakh and above remains unchanged at 4%. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 18 August 2017.
Pharma stocks declined. Piramal Enterprises (down 3.22%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (down 2.83%), Dr Reddy's Laboratories (down 2.51%), Wockhardt (down 2.43%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (down 2.01%), Lupin (down 1.91%), Divi's Laboratories (down 1.84%), Cipla (down 0.88%), Strides Shasun (down 0.71%), IPCA Laboratories (down 0.67%), GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (down 0.25%), Cadila Healthcare (down 0.1%) and Alkem Laboratories (down 0.02%), edged lower.
Aurobindo Pharma lost 1.28% to Rs 695.50. The company said it has received tentative approval from the US Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) under the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) for its New Drug Application for Dolutegravir, Lamivudine and Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate (TLD) tablets, 50mg/300mg/300mg.
IT major Infosys slumped 5.37% at Rs 873.50 on media reports that four US law firms said they would be investigating claims on behalf of Infosys investors whether some of the officers and directors of the company engaged in securities fraud. This development follows the sudden resignation of CEO Vishal Sikka and the steep drop in share prices on Friday, 18 August 2017.
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