Asia markets were mixed on Monday as the U.S. and Canada announced that they had reached a deal to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 125.72 points, or 0.5%, to 24,245.76, as shares of major automakers such as Toyota and Nissan saw declines.
The moves in Tokyo came on the back of the release of a survey conducted by the Bank of Japan which showed business confidence among the country's big manufacturers falling for the third consecutive quarter.
The Japanese yen weakened further at 113.98 against the U.S. dollar
In South Korea, a private survey showed factory activity expanding in September for the first time since March. Shares of SK Innovation, however, surged 3.7% after the company said it was considering the establishment of an electric vehicle battery plant in the U.S.
Down Under, the ASX 200 slipped, with most sectors in negative territory. The heavily weighted financial sector fell 1.3% with shares of Commonwealth Bank of Australia sliding by 1.4% and AMP down by 2.2%. The Australian dollar also slipped to $0.7214 U.S.
The moves in the financial sector Down Under came on the back of an interim report by Australia's Royal Commission into misconduct in the banking and financial services industry, which included instances of bribery, fraud, fee-gouging and board-level deception within the sector.
Markets in Hong Kong and Shanghai were shuttered for holiday
CHINA
Even so, on Sunday, the release of data showed growth in China's manufacturing sector slowing down in September, with both external and domestic demand weakening. The Caixin/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index — which focuses on small and medium-sized firms in China — fell to 50.0 in September from 50.6 in August. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a reading of 50.5 on average.
The data comes as the U.S.-China trade war continues to escalate, with new tariffs imposed between the two countries on Sept. 24 and Washington threatening to slap tariffs on virtually all Chinese imports into the United States.
In other markets
In Singapore, the Straits Times STI index faded 1.59 points, or 0.1%, to 3,255.46
The Kospi slumped 4.19 points, or 0.2%, to 2,338.88
In Taiwan, the Taiex index recovered 45.46 points, or 0.4%, to 11,051.80
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 slid 23.8 points, or 0.3%, to 9,327.27
In Australia, the ASX 200 fell back 35.3 points, or 0.6%, to 6,172.26
