Asia report: Shares broadly lower ahead of busy data week

Asia-Pacific shares were broadly lower on Monday as investors awaited a busy week of economic data, including US inflation figures that will give more clues on the likely path of interest rates.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 0.88% lower at 27,427.92 and the Topix was down 0.47% at 1,977.67 as the Japanese yen continued to remain volatile after a report that Japan will nominate Kazuo Ueda as its next central bank governor.

The yield on the 10-year Japanese government bond stood at 0.5%, hovering around the BOJ’s upper ceiling of its tolerance range. In South Korea, the Kospi was down 0.69% to finish at 2452.7.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng rose fractionally to 21,199. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.72% to 3,285 points.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.21% to close the session at 7,417.8, and the S&P/NZX 50 finished 0.85% lower at 12,075.18 as New Zealand braced for further impact from tropical cyclone Gabrielle.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com