Asian shares retreat from historic high on geopolitical tensions

Asian share markets took a breather from their milestone peak on Monday. The series of declines came after investors’ sentiment was dampened by geopolitical tensions, with the United States planning to impose sanctions on some Chinese officials.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan recorded a 0.1% drop, easing from its four consecutive days of gains. It recently saw a record peak of 644.3 points on Monday, advancing about 16% this year after it recorded a 33% increase in 2017.

Despite strong export figures, China’s blue-chip index declined 0.8%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index tallied a 1.7% drop as Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.46%. Australian shares bucked the trend and jumped 0.6%.

This could be attributed to a Reuters exclusive report about the United States’ plan of implementing sanctions on at least a dozen Chinese officials. These officials are allegedly involved in Beijing’s disqualification of elected opposition legislators in Hong Kong.