Asia markets traded mixed Monday morning as investors awaited a fresh round of U.S.-China trade negotiations set to begin later this week.

Japan's Nikkei 225 fell by 0.3% after starting the trading day higher. Shares of index heavyweight Fast Retailing, the company behind the Uniqlo chain of apparel stores, slipped 0.54%. The Topix index also gave up gains and fell 0.18%.

South Korea's Kospi also slipped fractionally, with shares of LG Chem dropping 1.52%. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.35% as the sectors mostly traded higher. Trading in Australia is expected to be subdued as parts of the country is closed for the Labour Day holiday.

Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index rose 0.12%. Markets in Hong Kong and China are closed Monday for holidays.

Investors appeared to be taking the cue from U.S. jobs data released Friday that showed moderate growth. The jobless rate in September fell to a 50-year low while nonfarm payrolls rose by 136,000 in September. Expectations for a rate cut by the Federal Reserve have risen since last week's disappointing U.S. manufacturing data which showed a contraction in the sector.

Ahead of this week's trade talks between the world's two largest economies, there were reports that Chinese officials are growing hesitant to pursue a broad trade deal with the U.S.

Principal-level trade negotiations between the United States and China are set to begin on Thursday in Washington. Trade tensions have risen recently after reports said U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is deliberating ways to limit American investors' portfolio flows into China, which includes delisting Chinese companies from U.S. stock exchanges.

The outcome from this week's trade discussions "will likely be pivotal in determining if the two sides can reach an interim trade deal that postpones further tariff escalation," analysts at Eurasia Group wrote in a note last week. They said there is a 40% probability to an interim deal, and a 60% chance that Trump at least postpones further tariff hikes.

Tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods are scheduled to rise to 30% on Oct. 15. Both countries have slapped tariffs on billions of dollars worth of each other's goods, which has roiled global markets, created uncertainty and dampened economic growth outlooks around the world.

"An interim deal at a minimum would include an agreement by Trump to delay further tariff increases and approve a subset of pending licenses for US suppliers to Huawei in exchange for China stepping up purchases of US agricultural products," the Eurasia Group analysts added.

Market reaction to the release of U.S. nonfarm payrolls data last Friday will also be watched.

Unemployment stateside touched a fresh 50-year low in September, though the nonfarm payrolls rose by 136,000 — below the 145,000 jobs economists had predicted in Dow Jones survey.

"The US labour data helped remove some of the gloom around the US economy, as the report suggested that recent manufacturing sector woes were not spreading into the broader economy just yet," Adelaide Timbrell from ANZ Research wrote in a Monday morning note.

"Instead, September's labour market data suggests that despite the softening suggested by business surveys, underlying economic momentum in the US remains strong," Timbrell added.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 98.759 after declining from levels above 99.6 last week.

The Japanese yen, often seen as a safe-haven currency in times of market turmoil, traded at 106.72 per dollar after strengthening from levels above 108 in the previous trading week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6759 following a rise from levels below $0.669 last week.

Oil prices declined in the morning of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures falling 0.39% to $58.14 per barrel. U.S. crude futures also shed 0.28% to $52.66 per barrel.

What's on tap:

• Taiwan: September trade data at 4:00 p.m. HK/SIN

— Reuters contributed to this report.