Investing.com - Asian shares were mostly weaker in the morning session Monday after data from China at the weekend showed further signs of distress in housing as price gains decelerated in April.
The Nikkei 225 rose by 0.07% after a 1.4% fall on Friday after data showed that Japan core machinery orders in March rose by 19.1% on month, well ahead of expectations.
But the Shanghai Composite fell 1.09% and the Hang Seng eased 0.38%, mainly on the housing data, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.7% led by mining stocks.
Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) lost 1.7%, BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX:BHP) fell 1.4%, and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) was 1.9% lower.
U.S. stocks finished Friday's session in positive territory buoyed by upbeat housing data and demand for tech shares among bottom fishers. The Dow 30 rose 0.27%, the S&P 500 index rose 0.37%, while the NASDAQ Composite index rose 0.52%.