Investing.com – Asian stocks were broadly lower on Monday, as market sentiment was weighed by ongoing political turmoil in Egypt, while Japanese exporters declined as the yen strengthened.
During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slumped 0.63%, South Korea's Kospi Composite tumbled 1.81%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index dropped 1.18%.
Protests in Egypt continued for a sixth day on Monday, threatening President Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year rule and raising fears of the crisis spreading to neighboring countries in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, shares in many of the big name Japanese exporters declined as the yen strengthened, dampening the outlook for export earnings.
Shares in electronics giant Sony plunged 2.72%, the world’s largest maker of digital cameras Canon saw shares slump 0.98%, while shares in Honda, which gets approximately 70% of its revenue abroad dropped 1.42%.
Shares in Japan’s third largest automaker Nissan tumbled 2.24% after it said it temporarily halted production at its auto plant in Egypt.
Elsewhere, shares in shares in the world’s third largest maker of computer memory chips Elpida Memory plummeted 3.02% after the Nikkei Newspaper reported that the company would post a third quarter operating loss of approximately JPY20 billion, due to declining prices of dynamic random-access-memory chips.
In Hong Kong, shares in property developers led losses amid speculation the Chinese government would introduce further property tightening measures aimed at cooling prices.
Shares in Hong Kong’s largest property developer Hutchison Whampoa dropped 2.23%, rivals Sino Land Company saw shares slump 1.73%, while shares in property investment firm Lai Sun Development tumbled 1.75%.
Elsewhere, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.44% as resource stocks led losses.
Shares in the world’s largest mining group BHP Billiton lost 0.98%, rival Rio Tinto saw shares plunge 2.06%, while platinum producer Platinum Australia saw shares plunged 5.13%.
The outlook for European equity markets, meanwhile, was upbeat. The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a gain of 0.27%, France’s CAC 40 futures indicated an increase of 0.57%, the FTSE 100 futures pointed to a rise of 0.24%, while Germany's DAX futures were up 0.22%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish official data on personal consumption expenditure. The report also contains data on personal incomes and spending. The country is also to publish the Chicago PMI.
During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slumped 0.63%, South Korea's Kospi Composite tumbled 1.81%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index dropped 1.18%.
Protests in Egypt continued for a sixth day on Monday, threatening President Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year rule and raising fears of the crisis spreading to neighboring countries in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, shares in many of the big name Japanese exporters declined as the yen strengthened, dampening the outlook for export earnings.
Shares in electronics giant Sony plunged 2.72%, the world’s largest maker of digital cameras Canon saw shares slump 0.98%, while shares in Honda, which gets approximately 70% of its revenue abroad dropped 1.42%.
Shares in Japan’s third largest automaker Nissan tumbled 2.24% after it said it temporarily halted production at its auto plant in Egypt.
Elsewhere, shares in shares in the world’s third largest maker of computer memory chips Elpida Memory plummeted 3.02% after the Nikkei Newspaper reported that the company would post a third quarter operating loss of approximately JPY20 billion, due to declining prices of dynamic random-access-memory chips.
In Hong Kong, shares in property developers led losses amid speculation the Chinese government would introduce further property tightening measures aimed at cooling prices.
Shares in Hong Kong’s largest property developer Hutchison Whampoa dropped 2.23%, rivals Sino Land Company saw shares slump 1.73%, while shares in property investment firm Lai Sun Development tumbled 1.75%.
Elsewhere, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.44% as resource stocks led losses.
Shares in the world’s largest mining group BHP Billiton lost 0.98%, rival Rio Tinto saw shares plunge 2.06%, while platinum producer Platinum Australia saw shares plunged 5.13%.
The outlook for European equity markets, meanwhile, was upbeat. The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a gain of 0.27%, France’s CAC 40 futures indicated an increase of 0.57%, the FTSE 100 futures pointed to a rise of 0.24%, while Germany's DAX futures were up 0.22%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish official data on personal consumption expenditure. The report also contains data on personal incomes and spending. The country is also to publish the Chicago PMI.