Asian shares mostly lower

HONG KONG: Asian markets mostly fell on Monday, with Tokyo hit by profit-taking, while Shanghai tumbled on expectations China will restart initial public offerings in the new year, raising fears of a share glut.

Investors seemed broadly unmoved by upbeat figures showing Chinese manufacturing continuing to expand in November.

Tokyo ended flat, edging down 6.80 points, to 15,655.07, a second successive loss after hitting a near six-year high on Thursday. Sydney fell 0.76 percent, or 40.5 points, to 5,279.5, its lowest close in seven weeks and Seoul lost 0.69 percent, or 14.09 percent, to end at 2,030,78. Shanghai lost 0.59 percent, or 13.13 points, to 2,207.37 but Hong Kong was up 0.38 percent in the afternoon.

There was little influence from Wall Street, which was closed on Thursday and half of Friday for the Thanksgiving holiday. The Dow and S&P 500 were flat while the Nasdaq rose 0.37 percent.

HSBC said Monday that its index of manufacturing activity in China came in above forecasts for November, providing hope that the recent pick-up in the economy can be sustained.

The banking giant said its China purchasing managers´ index (PMI) sat at 50.8 last month, which while down from 50.9 in October is much better than the 50.4 initially estimated on November 21.Anything above 50 is considered growth and anything below indicates contraction.