Asian stocks mixed on cautious note as trade fears weigh on China equities

• Asia sees a mixed result as stock traders jostle for position amidst trade concerns.
• Japan’s Nikkei is nearly back in the green for the week, though further trials remain.

Equities in Asia are mixed for Thursday, with Japan’s Nikkei showing bullish notes trading back into 22,700.00 while China stocks are still slightly in the red for another day as the potential for a deepening trade dispute with the US taking the edge off of buyers’ appetite in the China bourses.

The US and China are still staring down their noses at each other, unflinching as they take turns announcing further tariff packages against each other, and a UBS Group AG study shows that analysts are pricing in a 20% chance of a worsening trade dispute.

“This suggests that if our base case plays out, and calm is restored, current sentiment is likely pricing in too harsh an outcome,” but they stipulated that  “clearly a more negative outcome is far from being priced in,” while they expect that an all-out trade war could easily see China stocks decline by 30% or more for 2018.

Australia’s ASX is the big winner in the Pacific Asia session today, up about 1.11%, while the Shanghai Composite is hesitant around -0.20% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index is down -0.60% on the day, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 up around 0.70%.

Nikkei 225 levels to watch

The Nikkei has managed to reverse the week’s losses from a bottom of 22,110.00, and a reversal into bearish action will see late May’s lows near 21,900.00, but a continued bullish correction will have to break through last week’s high of 23,000.00 to keep moving upwards.