Monday opened with exuberance as US Pres...>

EQUITIES: Monday opened with exuberance as US Pres Trump's late Fri announcement

on China/Hong Kong proved less onerous than expected, but fears returned in

European trading as Bloomberg reported China has halted some US soy imports.

- Asian stocks closed higher, with Japan's NIKKEI up 184.5 pts or +0.84% at

22062.39 and the TOPIX up 5.08 pts or +0.32% at 1568.75. China's SHANGHAI closed

up 63.08 pts or +2.21% at 2915.431 and the HANG SENG ended 771.05 pts higher or

+3.36% at 23736.33.

- European stocks are stronger, with the FTSE 100 up 60.86 pts or +1% at

6162.58, CAC 40 up 51.1 pts or +1.09% at 4767.15 and Euro Stoxx 50 up 20.44 pts

or +0.67% at 3081.47. Some markets including Germany are closed for holidays.

- U.S. futures have dipped negative, with the Dow Jones mini down 25 pts or

-0.1% at 25488, S&P 500 mini down 5 pts or -0.16% at 3051.75, NASDAQ mini down

37.5 pts or -0.39% at 9570.