Asian stocks rise despite lingering trade concerns

Major Asian equity indices are reporting gains at press time, even though the US-China trade war is showing no signs of letting up.

As of writing, the Shanghai Composite index is adding 18 points or 0.65%, having charted a bearish engulfing candle on Friday. South Korea's Kospi and Hong Kong's Hang Seng are up 0.48% and 0.18%, respectively.

Shares in Australia and New Zealand are alternating between marginal losses and gains.

Markets in Japan, Singapore, India, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand are closed on account of a trading holiday.

Meanwhile, futures on the S&P 500 are reporting 0.20% gains.

Despite the uptick in the Asian stocks, the anti-risk Japanese Yen remains bid. At press time, the USD/JPY is trading at 105.46, down 0.10% on the day and is looking to set new multi-month lows below Friday's low of 105.27.

The pair has dropped 400 pips so far this month and bond traders have lifted their expectations of central bank easing on escalating US-China trade tensions. On Aug. 1, President Tump abruptly ended the trade truce by stating the US will impose an additional 10% tariff on $300 billion worth of Chinese goods.

Beijing responded by halting purchases of US agricultural products and by allowing the Yuan to depreciate beyond 7 per US Dollar for the first time since 2008.

Further, President Trump said Friday that it would be "fine" if US-China negotiations planned for next month were called off, adding that he's "not ready to make a deal".

Goldman Sachs feels the US-China trade deal is unlikely to happen before 2020 US Presidential elections and fears of trade war leading to an economic recession are growing.

The investment bank has revised lower its forecast for the US fourth-quarter gross domestic product by 0.2 percentage points to 1.8%.