Investing.com - Asia shares were mixed on Monday with Tokyo down on trade data that showed a sharper than expected drop in imports.
The Nikkei 225 was down 1.09%. The S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.27%, while the Shanghai Composite gained 0.48%.
The People's Bank of China set the yuan central parity rate against the dollar stronger at 6.5455 on Monday, compared with last Friday's 6.5510.
In Asia, the G7 meeting of finance policymakers at the weekend did not rattle markets.
Finance policymakers at the G7 agreed to avoid competitive devaluation, but shunned a call by Japan to stimulate economies with fiscal measures while seeking "balanced" fiscal, monetary and structural reform policies to support global growth.
In Japan on Monday, the adjusted trade balance for April came in at a surplus of ¥430 billion, above the ¥270 billion surplus seen, while imports plunged 23.2%, more than the 19% drop expected and exports eased 10.1%, just a tad more than the 10% fall seen.
As well in Japan, the manufacturing PMI for May fell to 47.6, below the expected level of 48.3 and down from 48.2 in April.
Last week, U.S. stocks rebounded on Friday from a Fed-inspired sell-off over the previous two sessions, capping a volatile week when equities on Wall Street recoiled after the U.S. central bank sent strong indications that it is ready to lift interest rates again, as soon as next month.
Although the Dow Jones Industrial Average held onto gains late on Friday to halt a two-day losing streak, it still closed fractionally lower for the week to finish with its fourth consecutive weekly decline.
In Friday's session, the Dow gained 65.54 or 0.38% to 17,500.94, gaining as much as 136 points at session-highs.
The NASDAQ Composite index added 57.03 or 1.21% to 4,769.56, while the S&P 500 Composite index rose by 12.28 or 0.60% to 2,052.32, as both indices ticked up for the week.
On the S&P 500, nine of 10 sectors closed in the green, as stocks in the Technology, Industrials and Health Care industries led. Stocks in the Consumer Goods sector lagged, falling mildly on the day.