Asia report: Markets finish lower after poor session on Wall Street

Most markets in Asia finished in the red on Wednesday, following a negative session on Wall Street overnight as traders watched for the resumption of trade talks between Washington and Ottawa.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was down 0.51% at 22,580.83, as the yen weakened 0.16% against the dollar to last trade at JPY 111.59.

Carmakers were at the top of the agenda in Tokyo, as concerns arose over the impact of a recent typhoon on their manufacturing operations.

Nissan was off 1.01% and Toyota was down 0.77%, even though both auto giants had told media the storm had no major impact on production.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite was off 1.68% at 2,704.34, and the smaller, technology-heavy Shenzhen Composite lost 1.61% to 1,442.25.

South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.03% to 2,291.77, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong slid 2.61% to 27,243.85.

Technology behemoth Samsung Electronics led Seoul’s index lower, falling 2.2%,

The losses in Asia came after a poor showing in the US overnight, ahead of the restart of trade talks between Canada and the US.

Both nations missed a deadline of last Friday to reach a trade agreement - a deadline set by the White House just days after it reached a deal with Mexico, in an apparent bid to strong-arm Canada into accepting the same terms.

Market watchers were also cautious over the ongoing trade battle between the US and China, as a number of commentators suggested Beijing could take a more measured approach in the coming months.

Deutsche Bank Research chief economist Zhiwei Zhang said the People’s Republic could “follow a ‘wait-and-see’ strategy in the next few months, before the US midterm election is over in November.”

Zhang said there was “good reason” to follow that strategy, with the trade war likely to become painful for the US soon.

Oil prices were lower, with Brent crude last down 1.22% at $77.23 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate falling 1.45% to $68.87.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was 1% lower at 6,230.40, while across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 was off 0.7% at 9,228.00.

The down under dollars were a mixed bag, with the Aussie last 0.05% weaker on the greenback at AUD 1.3937, while the Kiwi strengthened 0.1% to NZD 1.5240.