The markets across Asia ended in negative territory, but well off the lows, on Monday, as traders became apprehensive about sustaining the global economic recovery, and await further cues from the U.S. for direction.
In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index declined 77.86 points, or 0.7%, to 10,513, while the broader Topix index of all First Section issues fell 6.35 points, or 0.7%, to 935.
Real estate stocks ended in negative territory. Sumitomo Realty & Development declined 2.04%, Mitsubishi Estate fell 2.20%, Mitsui Fudosan lost 1.84%, Heiwa Real Estate shed 2.08% and Tokyu Land Corp. slipped 1.41%.
Insurance stocks also ended weaker. Sompo Japan Insurance shed 1.13%, T&D Holdings lost 2.01%, Tokio Marine Holdings fell 1.80%, and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group Holdings declined 2.17%.
Shipping stocks ended declined. Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha slipped 0.29%, Mitsui OSK Lines fell 1.32% and Nippon Yusen lost 2.04%.
Trading companies ended lower. Mitsubishi Corp. slipped 1.09%, Sumitomo Corp. fell 2.12%, Toyota Tsusho Corp. lost 1.45% and Mitsui & Co. plunged 21.52%.
Mixed trading was witnessed among automotive stocks. Honda Motor fell 1.70%, Suzuki Motor shed 1.21%, Nissan Motor slipped 1.20%, and Mitsubishi Motor shed 0.75%. However, Toyota Motor Corp. ended in positive territory with a gain of 0.12%.
Banking stocks also ended mixed. While Resona Holdings surged up 2.82% and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial remained unchanged previous close, Mizuho Financial lost 1.05% and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial fell 1.22%.
In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX Index lost 32.70 points, or 0.69% to close at 4,718, while the All-Ordinaries Index ended at 4,743, representing a loss of 28.80 points, or 0.60%.
On the economic front, a report released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed that producer prices for stage 3 commodities in the country declined 0.4% during the fourth quarter in comparison to the previous quarter which saw a marginal 0.1% increase. Economists were expecting a 0.2% increase in producer prices for the quarter. The report further noted that, on annual basis, producer prices fell 1.5% during the quarter, wider than economists expectations for a 0.9% decline.
Separately, the Westpac - Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment survey for January showed that 84% of respondents expect prices to increase over the next year, with 21% expecting gains of over 10%. This compares with 74% respondents expecting house price gains in October, 53% in July and 33% in May.
Financial stocks ended in negative territory on concerns about US President Barack Obama's bank regulation plan and its impact on global financial sector. ANZ Bank lost 1.59%, Commonwealth Bank of Australia slipped 1.08%, National Australia Bank shed 0.67% and Westpac Banking Corp. fell 1.81%. Investment banker Macquarie Group declined 0.58%.
Retail stocks also ended in negative territory. David Jones declined 1.41%, Harvey Norman lost 1.58%, JB Hi-Fi Ltd fell 2.39%, Wesfarmers shed 0.58% and Woolworths edged down 0.07%.
Mixed trading was witnessed among mining and metal stocks. BHP Billiton lost 1.08%, Fortescue Metals slipped 0.42%, Gindalbie Metals fell 2.80%, and Mincor Resources shed 1.18%. However, Rio Tinto added 0.55%, Iluka Resources advanced 0.90%, Macarthur Coal rose 2.26%, Minara Resources gained 2.08% and Murchison Metals climbed 3.88%.
Oil stocks ended in negative territory. Woodside Petroleum shed 0.83%, Santos fell 1.18%, Oil Search slipped 0.54% and Origin Energy lost 1.50%.
Mixed trading was witnessed among gold stocks. While Newcrest Mining managed to end unchanged from previous close, Lihir Gold ended in negative territory with a loss of 0.33%.
Defensive stocks ended higher, limiting the losses in the market. Telecommunications company Telstra climbed 2.47%, Medical products company Cochlear gained 1.80% and CSL Ltd added 0.35%.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index ended in negative territory with a loss of 127.63 points, or 0.62%, to close at 20,599, having recovered part of the losses in early trading led by rebound in property stocks on fresh buying interest at lower levels. However, Chinese banks dragged down the overall market index lower on concerns about more tightening measures from China to cool-off the economy. Weaker closing on Wall Street on Friday amid concerns about the impact of US banking regulation plan unveiled by President Barack Obama dragged down the indices lower. Among the major banks, China Construction Bank declined 1.13% and Bank of China fell 2.06%.
In South Korea, the KOSPI Index ended in negative territory with a loss of 14.15 points, or 0.84%, at 1,670, as traders unloaded shares of financial companies including banks on concerns about the impact of the proposed banking regulation in the U.S. China's expected policy measures to cool-off the economy, concerns over re-appointment of Ben Bernanke as Chairman of the US Federal Reserve for the second term as well as weak trading across other markets in the region impacted market sentiment. Financials and technology stocks ended weaker as traders unloaded shares and locked in gains from recent rally.
Weak leads from Asia and profit taking ahead of a public holiday on Tuesday dragged the Indian market lower on Monday. However, short covering after the recent sell-off and robust earnings announced by many top blue-chip companies for the December quarter helped the market end off the day's lows. The benchmark Sensex finished at 16,780, down 79 points or 0.47% and the Nifty fell 28 points or 0.56% to 5,008.
Among other major markets open for trading in the region, Indonesia's Jakarta Composite Index declined 12.48 points, or 0.48% to close at 2,598, Taiwan's Weighted Index lost 54.32 points, or 0.69% to close at 7,873, Strait Times Index in Singapore slipped 8.00 points, or 0.28%, to close at 2,812 and . China's Shanghai Composite Index fell 34.18 points, or 1.09%, to close at 3,094.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.