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Stocks in Asia were set to see opening declines following comments from the Bank of Japan chief on the risks of increasing trade protectionism for the global economic growth outlook.
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Futures pointed to a lower open for the Nikkei 225 in Japan. The Nikkei futures contract in Chicago was at 22,155, as compared to the benchmark index’s last close at 22,169.11
The ASX 200 was also set to slip at the open, with SPI futures at 6,222.0 as compared to the index’s last close at 6,251.40.
Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said “some sort of protectionism” around global trade was the “most serious risk involved in the global economy,” in an interview with CNBC that aired on Monday.
Kuroda’s comments come as the U.S and Japan kicked off trade talks in Washington on Monday. U.S. President Donald Trump has made it clear he is unhappy with Japan’s $69 billion trade surplus with the United States and wants a two-way agreement to address it.
Meanwhile, China and the U.S. appear to be close to striking a trade deal.
The Chinese made unprecedented proposals on forced technology transfers, a sticking point in the negotiations, Reuters reported earlier. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also said Sunday that the U.S. is open to facing penalties if it doesn’t comply with an agreed-upon trade deal. However, Mnuchin also said Monday the two sides still have lots of work ahead of them.
Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 27.53 points to close at 26,384.77, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.1 percent to finish its trading day stateside at 2,905.58. The Nasdaq Composite closed 0.1 percent lower at 7,976.01.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 96.942 after seeing lows around 96.8 yesterday.
The Japanese yen traded at 111.98 against the dollar after seeing highs below 111.2 last week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7171, edging up slightly from yesterday’s $0.717 handle.
— CNBC’s Fred Imbert and Reuters contributed to this report.