CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stocks began the week on a sluggish note on Monday after U.S. shares fell on Friday following three days of gains. While oil prices recovered some lost ground in Asian deals, traders remained cautious ahead of tonight's first U.S. presidential debate and an informal OPEC meeting in Algiers that starts today.
Chinese shares tumbled to hit seven-week lows in thin trading, as investors moved to the sidelines ahead of the week-long National Day holiday starting on Oct. 1.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite index fell 53.47 points or 1.76 percent to 2,980.43, with property stocks taking a fresh beating after Nanjing , capital of East China's Jiangsu province , adopted new rules restricting home purchases. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down 368 points or 1.56 percent at 23,317.
Japanese shares fell for a second consecutive session, as the dollar wobbled against the yen and euro ahead of this week's speeches by the heads of central banks in the U.S., Europe and Japan. The Nikkei average fell 209.46 points or 1.25 percent to 16,544.56 and the broader Topix index closed 1.02 percent lower at 1,335.84.
Banks Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, Mizuho Financial and Sumitomo Financial dropped 1-2 percent after BOJ Governor said there is no limit to monetary policy and the central bank will never hesitate to challenge. Exporters Honda Motor, Mazda, Nissan, Panasonic and Sharp Corp also lost 1-2 percent.
Apple suppliers TDK Corp and Japan Display plunged 6-7 percent amid reports that Apple sales of the iPhone 7 have tanked compared to the iPhone 6.
Australian shares closed on a flat note after four straight days of gains. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 and the broader All Ordinaries index closed marginally higher at 5,431.40 and 5,519.10 respectively, despite consumer staples stocks pulling back sharply on fears over competition.
Woolworths fell over 2 percent on reports that German discount supermarket chain was applying for trademarks in Australia. While the big four banks ended flat to marginally higher, miners BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group closed narrowly mixed.
Woodside Petroleum, Beach Energy and Santos dropped 1-2 percent after crude oil futures fell around 4 percent on Friday in the wake of reports that Saudi Arabia does not expect an output agreement to stabilize the market in talks in Algiers this week.
Whitehaven Coal rallied 7.5 percent in response to the meteoric rise in coking coal prices over the last couple of months. Risk compliance services firm Sai Global soared as much as 28.7 percent after it has agreed to a A$1 billion ($761 million) takeover from Hong Kong-based Baring Asia Private Equity.
Seoul stocks snapped a six-day winning streak, as foreign investors resumed selling and prosecutors sought a warrant to arrest chairman Shin Dong-bin of Lotte Group in a corruption probe into the group. The benchmark Kospi dropped 6.96 points or 0.34 percent to 2,047.11.
New Zealand shares fell in thin trading after a report showed the country's trade deficit widened in August amid falls in dairy and meat exports. The benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index dropped 31.87 points or 0.44 percent to 7,264.87, with Ebos Group, Meridian Energy, Pacific Edge and Tower pacing decliners.
Malaysia's KLSE Composite index was moving down 0.3 percent. In a report, Department of Statistics Malaysia said that the country's jobless rate increased to 3.5 percent in July from 3.4 percent in the previous month.
India's Sensex was moving down 1.1 percent amid weak global cues, while the benchmark indexes in Indonesia, Singapore and Taiwan were down between 0.5 percent and 1 percent.
U.S. stocks inched lower on Friday, as manufacturing data disappointed investors and crude oil futures posted their biggest daily loss in two months. The Dow dropped 0.7 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq and the S&P 500 shed about 0.6 percent each.
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