Investing.com - Shares in Asia traded mixed on Monday with regional data sets and the policies of U.S. President Donald Trump in focus.
Since Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20, there has been a flurry of actions that run the gamut from immigration to financial deregulation to tighter border control that have caugh markets between a situation of "Trump-flation", that is higher yields and stronger dollar, or "Donald Doubt," which sees a softer dollar and lower yields due to protectionism and dollar jaw-boning, said Mizuho Bank's Vishnu Varathan in a Monday note.
In China, the Caixin Services PMI stayed in expansion at 53.1, but missed the expected 53.6 level and was below the previous month figure of 53.4. In Japan, average cash earnings inched up 0.1% year-on-year in December, well below the 0.4% gain expected. On an annual inflation-adjusted basis, wages dropped in December for the first time in a year as a rise in the cost of living outpaced nominal pay hikes. The labor ministry said adjusted real wages dropped 0.4% in December from a year earlier, following a revised flat reading in November. In Australia, retail sales dipped 0.1% in December month-on-month, much weaker than the 0.3% increase seen.
China's Shanghai composite slipped 0.1% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 0.49%. The Nikkei 225 inched up 0.16%.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.24% as National Australia Bank, one of Australia's "Big Four" banks, saw shares jump 1.18 percent, after it reported a 1 percent decline in its first-quarter cash profit at A$1.6 billion ($1.23 billion), as costs overtook revenue.
Last week, U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Financials, Oil & Gas and Industrials sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.94%, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.73%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 0.54%.