World shares mixed ahead of Trump-Xi meeting at G-20 summit

World share prices are mixed ahead of a meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 summit this weekend.

The DAX in Germany fell 0.6 per cent to 11,235.69 and France's CAC40 lost 0.5 per cent to 4,981.48. Britain's FTSE 100 sank 0.8 per cent to 6,983.30.

The outlook for US trading was clouded, with the future contract for the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.2 per cent at 25,337.00 and S&P 500 futures down 0.3 per cent at 2,735.20.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index climbed 0.4 per cent to 22,351.06 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 0.2 per cent to 26,506.75.

The Shanghai Composite index jumped 0.8 per cent to 2,588.19, while India's Sensex was flat at 36,153.04. South Korea's Kospi fell 0.8 per cent to 2,096.86 while the S&P ASX/200 in Australia tumbled 1.6 per cent to 5,667.20 on heavy selling of financials and consumer goods companies.

Shares rose in Taiwan and Singapore but fell in Indonesia.

The working dinner meeting between Trump and Xi could bring a breakthrough in a bruising trade war that has the US and China imposing punitive tariffs on billions of dollars' worth of each other's exports.

Analysts are not optimistic about prospects for improvement a month before US tariffs on Chinese goods are due to ramp up.

"As investors shift their attention to the upcoming G-20 Trump-Xi meeting this weekend, Trump has hinted that he is very close to 'doing something with China' on trade," Mizuho Bank said in a market note.

"Though a comprehensive agreement is still unlikely, agreeing on a framework for future talks together with a delay in implementation of a 25 per cent tariff hike on USD 200 billion of Chinese imports" would "constitute a good outcome."