Major Asian indexes were mixed in Monday trade, with a broad index of Asia Pacific shares recording a moderate decline, as investors digested elections in Germany and New Zealand over the weekend.
The Nikkei 225 index hiked 101.13 points, or 0.5%, to 20,397.58, as automakers and trading houses notched gains. The yen was softer against the dollar as markets weighed news of a potential snap election ahead in Japan.
The Hang Seng Index tumbled 380.19 points, or 1.4%, to 27,500.34. The euro and kiwi dollar were in focus as markets digested political headlines from the German and New Zealand elections.
Politics were also in the spotlight in Japan, after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday announced plans to put together a two-trillion-yen ($17.8-billion U.S.) stimulus package. Abe was expected to call for a snap election during a press conference later in the day. The Japanese currency was softer against the U.S. currency at 112.28 yen to the dollar.
Toshiba pared steeper losses to close down 0.3% as other tech stocks proved a mixed picture. The conglomerate had announced last week that it would sell its memory chip unit to a consortium led by Bain Capital, although stumbling blocks could lie ahead.
Australian markets pared gains to finish the session percent higher, with the health care sub-index leading gains. The heavily-weighted financials sub-index closed flat.
In stocks, property stocks listed in Hong Kong and China took a tumble on Monday after new measures were introduced to cool the mainland housing market. Average new home prices in China rose 0.2% in August from the previous month, compared with a 0.4% rise in July.
Hong Kong-traded shares of heavyweight China Vanke were down 7.2%, while the company's Shenzhen-traded stock closed 6.1% lower. Hong Kong-listed Evergrande was down 9.8%.
In New Zealand, Fonterra stock closed up 1.6% after the dairy company reported on Monday that full-year profit declined 11% to NZ$745 million ($542 million U.S.). Revenue for the year rose 12% to NZ$19.2 billion ($13.98 billion U.S).
In other markets
The CSI 300 moved down 19.94 points, or 0.5%, to 3,817.79
In Taiwan, the Taiex index plummeted 113.79 points, or 1.1%, to 10,335.89
In Korea, the Kospi index doffed 8.31 points, or 0.4%, to 2,380.40
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index dropped 4.34 points, or 0.1%, to 3,215.91
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 gained 54.99 points, or 0.7%, to 7,869.77
In Australia, the ASX 200 gained 1.59 points to 5,683.73
