Asia stocks log another day of broad losses amid unrelenting trade worries

Asian markets logged another mostly losing session on Thursday, as investors counted down to the potential start of a new and worrying phase in a global trade spat.

The Shanghai Composite  closed down 0.9%, marking its third-straight losing session, while the tech-heavy China Shenzhen ChiNext Composite  fell 2.2%, after logging a 2.6% decline on Wednesday.

In the latest development on the trade-battle front, Chinese officials refuted media reports that the country will fire the first shots in its continuing skirmish with the U.S. The customs bureau announced Thursday that its tariffs on U.S. goods will kick in only after the Trump administration’s levies on $34 billion worth of Chinese products are implemented, a move expected to come Friday.

Elsewhere, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index  fell 0.5%, while Japan’s Nikkei  dropped 0.8% and Korea’s Kospi fell 0.4%. The Taiwan Taiex  dropped 1%.

On the upside, New Zealand’s NZX 50 rose 0.4% and Australia’s S&P ASX 200 finished up 0.5%.