Asian stocks off on the wrong foot, Japan's Monday continues Wall Street's Friday slide

• Asian equities remain soft as political tensions and trade wars keep the bulls at bay.
• China's promises of stock market support are giving a boost to Chinese bourses, but the topside action could evaporate quickly.

Asian shares are heading softly lower in early Monday action, as geopolitical concerns surrounding the US-China trade spat and Saudi Arabia's newfound demonization after murdering a journalist critical of the royal family.

Japan is off to a rocky start, with the Nikkei 225 index down -0.60% and Tokyo's Topix index declining by -0.80% as risk appetite takes a turn lower for Monday. Australia's ASX 200 remains underbid as well, in the red by -0.40%, and emerging markets are also weaker on the day, with the MSCI broad Asia-Pacific index sliding by -0.20%.

China's indexes are remaining surprisingly well-bid after last week's coordinated pronouncements from the Chinese government that they would do whatever it takes to prop up their domestic markets, with China's Xi Jinping promising to continue opening up liquidty access channels for investment-focused Chinese businesses. Shanghai's CSI 300 index is continuing to trade near 1.95%, carried from last week's close, while the Hong Kong Hang Sang index is bumping up 1.15%.

Nikkei 225 levels to watch

The Nikkei 225 is knocking into 22,450.00 in the week's early hours after kicking to a low of 22,270.00. Bearish pressure remains built into the last swing high of 22,690.00, while the index's last bottom at 22,285.00 could provide a floor for a bullish recovery.