Investing.com - Japanese stocks fell early in Asia on Monday as concerns over Iraq resulted in a stronger yen on safe haven buying, though stronger crude prices also weighed, while Australian mining shares also fell.
The Nikkei 225 fell 0.55% in morning trade.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.4%, with Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) down 1% and Atlas Iron Ltd (ASX:AGO) plunged 4.2%. In South Korea, the Kospi was down less than 0.1%.
In the week ahead, investors will be focusing on the outcome of Wednesday’s Federal Reserve policy meeting.
Last week, U.S. stocks rose on Friday after President Barack Obama ruled out sending troops into Iraq to help quell a rebellion there, though concerns that insurgents will arrive at the outskirts of Baghdad later in a matter of days capped gains
The Dow 30 rose 0.25%, the S&P 500 index rose 0.31%, while the NASDAQ Composite index rose 0.30%.
Wall Street continued to track a rebellion in Iraq led by a Sunni Islamist group that threatened to take Baghdad after capturing key cities elsewhere in the country.
In a preliminary report, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index fell to 81.2 this month from 81.9 in May, whose figure was revised up from a previously estimated reading of 81.8. Analysts had expected the index to rise to 83.0 in June.
Also on Friday, official data showed that U.S. producer price inflation fell 0.2% in May, confounding expectations for a 0.1% rise, after a 0.6% increase the previous month.
Core producer price inflation, which excludes food, energy and trade, slipped 0.1% last month, compared to expectations for an increase of 0.1%, after a 0.5% rise in April.