Asia-Pacific markets live: Hang Seng Index, Nikkei

Asia-Pacific markets opened mostly lower Monday as U.S. President Donald Trump’s April 2 tariff deadline looms.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.37%.

South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.36%, while the small-cap Kosdaq dipped 0.05%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.28% at the open while the Topix gained 0.13%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures last traded at 23,657, lower than HSI’s last close of 23,689.72. Over the weekend, China’s Premier Li Qiang cautioned “rising instability” and called for countries to open up markets and enterprises.

U.S. stock futures were higher, signaling that equities could extend their recent gains.

Last Friday in the U.S., the three major averages closed higher. The indexes rebounded from their lows after Trump mentioned there would be some “flexibility” regarding tariffs. However, he reiterated the April 2 deadline for reciprocal tariffs.

The S&P 500 added 0.08% to close at 5,667.56, rising into positive territory to end four consecutive weeks of declines that were brought on by trade policy turmoil, recession fears and a rollover in megacap tech shares. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.52% and settled at 17,784.05, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 32.03 points, or 0.08%, to close at 41,985.35.

CNBC’s Brian Evans, Sean Conlon and Hakyung Kim contributed to this report.