Investing.com - Asian shares held weaker on Monday with Tokyo markets shut for a holiday and a light regional data day ahead.
The S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.95%, while the Shanghai Composite eased 0.93%.
Investors are watching events in the Middle East closely for signs of any escalation in tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran - and keeping a close eye on China for poliycmaker statements on the economy.
In the week ahead, investors will continue to focus on economic reports out of China, with Wednesday’s trade data in the spotlight.
The U.S. is to release data on retail sales, producer prices and consumer sentiment later in the week, while Thursday’s monetary policy meeting minutes from the Bank of England will also be in focus.
Last week, U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Friday, as losses in the Financials, Healthcare and Oil & Gas sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 1.02% to hit a new 3-months low, while the S&P 500 index lost 1.08%, and the NASDAQ Composite index fell 0.98%.
Of note, U.S. economy created much more jobs than expected in December.
The Labor Department reported that the U.S. economy added 292,000 jobs last month, after increasing an upwardly revised 252,000 in November. Economists had forecast payrolls to rise by 200,000. The unemployment rate held steady at a seven-and-a-half year low of 5% in December.
The report bolstered expectations that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates at a faster pace this year.
However, a meltdown on China’s stock market and a rapid depreciation of the yuan rattled investor sentiment.
While investors had expected the People's Bank of China to allow the yuan to fall further after last year’s 4.5% depreciation, the rapid pace of the devaluation has fueled fears that the world’s number two economy is growing even more slowly than expected.