Asia Pacific shares trade mixed as investors watch US-China trade developments

Shares in Asia Pacific were mixed in Monday morning trade as investors watch for developments on the U.S.-China trade front.

South Korea's Kospi dipped 0.2% in early trade, with shares of industry heavyweight Samsung Electronics declining 0.2%.

Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.52% as the sectors advanced.

Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index shed 0.05%.

Markets in Japan are closed on Monday for a holiday.

Anheuser-Busch InBev, is set to price its Budweiser IPO in Hong Kong on Monday. It is the firm's second attempt at doing so after halting an earlier attempt at going public.

Asia-Pacific Market Indexes Chart

On the trade front, China's Ministry of Commerce said over the weekend that economic and trade teams from the two economic powerhouses held "constructive" discussions in Washington late last week. They added that both the U.S. and China agreed to maintain in contact.

Shares stateside had slipped last Friday after the Chinese delegation canceled a visit to U.S. farms in Montana and Beijing officials headed back to China earlier than planned, dampening expectations of a trade deal being reached.

Oil prices jump

Oil prices jumped in the morning of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures gaining 1.09% to $64.98 per barrel and U.S. crude futures jumping 1.12% to $58.74 per barrel.

Shares of oil companies in Australia also saw gains, with Beach Energy surging 1.75% and Santos gaining 0.26%.

The Nikkei Asian Review reported over the weekend that Saudi Arabian state oil firm Aramco told Japanese refiner JXTG about a potential change in shipments, raising questions over the kingdom's ability to supply crude following recent attacks on its major refineries.

Currencies

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 98.483 after seeing highs above 98.6 last week.

The Japanese yen traded at 107.65 against the dollar after seeing lows above 108.3 in the previous trading week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6767 after declining from levels above $0.685 last week.

What's on tap:

• Hong Kong: Budweiser APAC prices IPO
• Singapore: Consumer Price Index for August at 1:00 p.m. HK/SIN

— CNBC's Fred Imbert contributed to this report.

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