The yen pared its initial advance Monday morning, with early moves lower fading for the Australian and New Zealand dollars following the latest development in the trade war.
The US and China are hours away from a new round of tariffs on each other’s goods.
Markets are closed in Japan, China and South Korea Monday and Treasuries won’t trade until the London open.
Futures on the S&P 500 Index slipped after US stocks finished Friday flat and the 10-year Treasury yield held at 3.06%.
The escalation in US-China trade tensions will test two strong weeks of gains for Asian equities that lifted stocks off this year’s lows in part due to optimism that economies can weather the hit from trade restrictions.
Next up this week is the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting that will likely see interest rates increased for the third time this year, with markets increasingly pricing for another one in December.
Elsewhere, oil climbed above US$71 (RM293.23) a barrel after Opec gave the cold shoulder to US President Donald Trump’s demand that it take rapid action to reduce oil prices.