By Christopher Whittall 

Global stocks mostly headed lower Monday as tensions over tariffs remained front and center for investors after China canceled trade talks with the U.S.

Futures markets pointed to a 0.2% opening loss for the S&P 500. The Stoxx Europe 600 slipped 0.2%, despite energy companies posting gains as Brent crude oil prices rose above $80 per barrel.

Stock indexes across the Asia-Pacific declined, though markets in China, Japan and South Korea were closed for public holidays.

Monday's moves followed a solid week for global stocks, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 both hitting new records and China's Shanghai Composite Index notching its biggest weekly gain in over two years.

That came despite an escalation in trade tensions between the world's two largest economies after the Trump administration announced a further $200 billion of tariffs on Chinese imports, which are set to kick in today. Nonetheless, most investors took the view that the conflict would ultimately be resolved, helping lift markets around the world.

That positive momentum showed signs of stalling Monday after China pulled out of trade talks with the U.S. slated for this week, suggesting a resolution to the conflict could be some way off.

Fabrizio Quirighetti, co-head of multiasset at SYZ Asset Management, is looking through the near-term headlines in the belief that the U.S. and China will reach an agreement after the midterm elections in November.

Having favored U.S. stocks over the summer -- which pushed higher because of a resilient domestic economy -- he is now buying equities in other regions including Europe, where he thinks growth is firming after a slowdown earlier in 2018.

"We have become more constructive on the rest of the world," said Mr. Quirighetti.

Rising oil prices provided some support for European markets Monday. Brent crude oil climbed 2.3% to $80.08 a barrel after a Sunday meeting of oil-producing countries failed to produce a consensus on how to contain prices.

The Stoxx Europe 600 oil & gas subindex was up 1.5%.

Mergers and acquisitions also drove European markets, with shares in Sky PLC rising nearly 9% after Comcast Corp. outbid 21st Century Fox Inc. to buy the European pay-TV giant. Shares in Comcast were down 5% in U.S. premarket trading.

Shares in Randgold Resources Ltd rose 5.5% on news that Barrick Gold Corp. had agreed to buy the company in an all-share merger that would create the world's largest gold miner.

The biggest losers were car makers, with the Stoxx Europe 600 autos & parts subindex down 1.2%. Auto manufacturers are one of the industries most exposed to global trade tensions.

There were signs of last week's positive momentum reversing in Asia, though many markets were closed. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slumped 1.6% after rising 2.45% last week. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.1%.

Investors' attention will return to central banks this week, with the Federal Reserve due to release its policy statement Wednesday. The Fed is on track to raise interest rates amid solid U.S. growth, while investors will look for clues on the path of rate increases in 2019.

"We don't think there'll be a dovish surprise coming out of the meeting, " said Ian Samson, markets research analyst at Fidelity International.

In bond markets, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note hovered near a seven-year high at 3.075%, according to Tradeweb. Treasury yields rose last week as investors embraced risk and sold haven assets, settling at 3.068% Friday.

In currencies, the WSJ Dollar Index, which measures the buck against a basket of 16 other currencies, was down 0.1% recently.

The British pound was up 0.7% against the dollar following a steep fall on Friday after Brexit negotiations between the U.K. and the European Union reached an impasse.

Write to Christopher Whittall at christopher.whittall@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 24, 2018 08:52 ET (12:52 GMT)

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