It was a rocky start to the week for.........>

STOCKS: It was a rocky start to the week for Chinese equities with the CSI 300

shedding 0.9%, as the spectre of U.S. President Trump's trade war threats loomed

over the space.

- Elsewhere the Hang Seng shed 1.0% as the health care and consumer staples

sector led the way lower, with telecoms the only sector in the green.

- The Nikkei 225 struggled for outright direction but still managed to lodge

modest gains, as energy and health care led the way higher, while the consumer

discretionary and staples sectors found themselves bottom of the table.

- The ASX 200 also managed to print modest gains, aided by the outperformance of

the IT & health care sectors.

- U.S. index futures ticked higher.