Asia shares mostly down, focus on data releases this week

HONG KONG: Asian markets broadly fell Monday despite an uptick on Wall Street, while traders keep an eye on the release of key indicators out of China and Japan later in the week.

Tokyo was up 0.12 percent, Sydney eased 0.80 percent, Shanghai dropped 0.43 percent, Seoul lost 0.12 percent and Hong Kong was 0.20 percent lower.

US shares ended slightly higher on Friday after upbeat earnings from retailers JC Penney and Nordstrom, while the Commerce Department said overall housing starts rose 13.2 percent in April from March.

The Dow rose 0.27 percent, the S&P 500 added 0.37 percent and the Nasdaq gained 0.52 percent.

Japanese traders were given a lift on Monday by figures showing machinery orders, a leading indicator of corporate capital spending in the country, jumped 19.1 percent on-month in March.

The figure beat forecasts of a 6.2 percent rise as firms stocked up ahead of the introduction of a sales tax hike on April 1.With few catalysts to drive buying, investors are looking to the release of Japanese trade data on Wednesday as well as the Bank of Japan´s latest policy meeting.

And Thursday will see HSBC release its preliminary results on May manufacturing activity in China, with analysts hoping for signs of a pick-up in the world´s number two economy. The British banking giant will also unveil its early results for the eurozone and United States later in the day.

On foreign exchange markets Monday, the dollar was at 101.53 yen compared with 101.54 yen. The euro bought $1.3704 and 139.15 yen against $1.3695 and 139.08 yen.

Oil prices edged higher following the outbreak of violence in crude producer Libya after a rogue general attempted a coup, raising concerns about potential supply disruptions, analysts said.

The US benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in June, edged up three cents to $102.05 in mid-morning trade. Brent North Sea crude for July rose nine cents to $109.84.

Gold fetched $1,292.36 an ounce at 0100 GMT compared with $1,293.51 late Thursday. (AFP)