Equities on Wall Street were lower in premarket trade on Monday after United States Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai revealed that the Biden administration is not prepared to remove tariffs on goods coming in from China.
Equities on major stock markets in the Asia-Pacific region were mostly below the flatline on Monday as investors remained focused on the coronavirus pandemic.
The DAX opened 0.42 percent higher, the FTSE 100 advanced by 0.06 percent and the CAC 40 went up by 0.15 percent.
The euro lost 0.10 percent to the dollar to change hands for 1.17825 dollars, while the pound sterling declined by 0.15 percent against the greenback to sell for 1.37704 dollars.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average index declined 0.46 percent or 153 points, the Nasdaq 100 was 0.64 percent down and the S&P 500 decreased by 0.57 percent at 4:33 am ET.
In Mainland China, the Shanghai Composite increased 0.32 percent, while the Shenzhen Composite stood flat. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.64 percent. Japanese Nikkei 225 dropped 0.37 percent. South Korean Kospi Composite fell 0.20 percent, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 tumbled 0.62 percent.