Close-up on US-Chinese trade, oil and currencies

Asian stocks were mixed Monday in trade with growing concerns about the state of world trade.

Mainland China's shares rose mainly in morning trading, with the Shanghai composite accounting for 0.26% and the Shenzhen component gaining 0.21%. Shenzhen's composite was largely flat.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index fell slightly.

Data from a private poll on Monday showed that Chinese manufacturing activity was better than expected in May.

The index of Caixin / Markit's factory purchase managers for May was 50.2, compared to the 50 anticipated by analysts in a Reuters survey. The April PMI index was 50.2. PMI values ​​above 50 indicate expansion, while those below this signal contraction.

Last week, the official Chinese manufacturing PMI for May was 49.4, which is lower than the 49.9 economists polled by Reuters. It was also lower than the April 50.1. The official non-manufacturing PMI for May was 54.3 – unchanged from April.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 lost 1.04% in morning trading while the heavyweight Fanuc index saw its shares fall by more than 2%. The Topix index also lost 0.96%. The Japanese conglomerate Softbank Group saw its stock dip more than 4% after the Wall Street Journal announced that the company was struggling to raise funds for its latest fund.

In South Korea, Kospi gained 0.58% while Samsung Electronics shares gained more than 2%.

In Australia, the ASX 200 declined 0.77%, with virtually all sectors down.

A strategist described the current environment as "very difficult" and "very tricky".

"It's time to think about … where you can get a safe return.It's playing defense in stock rather than being aggressive," Jonathan Garner, chief executive and chief of equity strategy, told CNBC. and emerging markets at Morgan Stanley. Squawk Box "on Monday.

Wall Street shares plunged last Friday, while the S & P 500 index ended May down 6.6% as volatility intensified after the collapse of the markets. trade talks with China and that rhetoric on both sides worsened in May, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average recorded a sixth consecutive weekly loss – the longest run of weekly losses for the Dow since 2011. S & P 500 and Nasdaq Composite recorded their fourth consecutive weekly loss. Major indices also ended a four-month winning streak.

The losses were recorded when investors assimilated recent developments in US trade policy. US President Donald Trump announced Thursday that the United States would impose a 5% tariff on all Mexican imports starting June 10, until illegal immigration crosses the southern border.

The announcement came in the midst of a protracted US-China trade dispute, with both parties slapping themselves with billions of dollars of tariffs on each other's products as the conflict escalated. was in a dead end.

"After a volatile month of May for the markets, it is unlikely that the beginning of June will offer a reprieve, as expanding the scope of the US customs tariff this weekend will prompt many people to wonder if auto-exporting countries could be next in the line of fire, "said Rodrigo Catril. , senior currency strategist at the National Australia Bank, wrote in a note.

For its part, China has strongly opposed the demands of the United States, publishing Sunday a white paper that shows a growing gap between the two economic powers.

The Japanese yen, often considered a safe haven currency, traded at 108.20 against the dollar after hitting levels above 109.5 during the previous trading week. The Australian dollar has changed hands at $ 0.6950 after falling around $ 0.690 last week.

Oil prices dipped during the morning trading hours in Asia as the Brent crude futures contract dropped 1.45% to settle at $ 61.09 a barrel and futures contracts for the US crude yielding 1.08% to 52.92 dollars per barrel.

– CNBC's Fred Imbert, Yen Nee Lee and Huileng Tan contributed to this report.