Chinese benchmark ends 0.19% lower

Asian stocks fell sharply on Monday as the U.S. government shutdown entered its third week and trade tensions between the U.S. and China returned to the fore.

Regional markets fell across the board even as U.S. President Donald Trump posted conciliatory message about China tariffs on Truth Social after threatening 100 percent tariff.

As economic worries mount, investors also awaited corporate earnings reports from prominent U.S. companies and guidance from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

China's Shanghai Composite index ended down 0.19 percent at 3,889.50, recouping most early losses after China's foreign trade showed surprising strength in September, with both exports and imports beating forecasts.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slumped 1.52 percent to 25,889.48 on renewed Sino-U.S. trade tensions. Beijing on Sunday defended its latest export control measures on rare earths and related items as a response to U.S. aggression but stopped short of imposing new levies on U.S. products.

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