Hong Kong shares fell behind on Monday, in sync with weak mainland markets, as investors braced for a much more likely rise in U.S. interest rates next month.
Markets in Japan are closed for a national holiday on Monday.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng doffed 21.05 points, or 0.6%, to 22,665.90, after several consecutive days of triple-digit gains last week.
Information Technology and industrial stocks rose, but energy and property shares fell.
The financial sector was pulled down by Chinese brokerage Guotai Junan International Holdings Ltd., which dove 12.3%, after suggesting its chief executive Yim Fung may have been missing since Nov. 18.
In contrast, shares of Chinese property developer Evergrande Real Estate jumped more than 5% to a five-month trading high, after the company said it would pay $617 million U.S. for a 50% stake in a joint-venture life insurer.
Taiwanese stocks gained ground despite a marginal increase in the country's October jobless rate. Data showed the October rate was 3.9% compared to the 3.89% reported in September.
Blue chips lost their momentum in the afternoon session, after opening in the green. Samsung Electronics closed 0.2% lower, steel manufacturer Posco ended 0.3%, Hyundai Motor down 0.6%, and SK Hynix dipped 1.1% in the red.
One exception was Samsung C&T shares, which jumped to close 7.5% higher after it was announced that the contractor clinched a deal to build a mass rapid transit (MRT) station and its tunnels in Singapore. Reuters reported the deal to be worth approximately $555 million U.S.
Investors also kept an eye on the Lotte Group as the internal power struggle between its owners continue. Last week, the group lost one of its duty-free licenses to operate a store in Seoul to competitor Shinsegae.
Shares of Lotte Shopping closed 3.2% higher, Lotte Chemical Corp was up 1.2%, while Lotte HiMart remained unchanged.
In Australia, iron ore producers closed mixed on Monday. Fortescue Metals was up 4.3% while Atlas Iron was up 4.4%. But Mount Gibson, BC Iron, Rio Tinto remained in the red while South32 saw a sharp 5.1% decline. The metal producer had its price targets cut by UBS.
Gold producers also took major hits. Newcrest Mining shares dropped 2.2% ,Evolution Mining was down 2.7%, Kingsgate lost 2.9% while Alacer Gold, which saw the biggest loss in morning trade, trimmed some of its losses to trade 6.6%in the red.
CHINA
The CSI 300 in Shanghai moved lower 21.05 points, or 0.6%, to 3,753.34,
Shares of Chinese banks and brokerages all closed lower after China's onshore yuan Monday fell to its lowest level against the U.S. dollar since August as offshore yuan continued to decline. The People's Bank of China set the midpoint rate at 6.3867 per dollar.
Chinese industrial stocks closed higher after Beijing approved a 80.51-billion-yuan ($12.60-billion U.S.) high-speed rail project, according to reports. Shares of CRRC, China Communications Constructions, and China Railway Group finished among the top five gainers on the Shanghai Composite on Monday.
Airline shares were also down on the back of prolonged global security threats affecting travel. Shares of Air China, China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, and Hainan Airlines all closed lower.
Chinese energy plays, Sinopec, PetroChina, and China Oilfield Services, also ended in the red as oil prices remain just above the $40 a barrel mark.
Australian banks closed mostly in positive territory. The four biggest banks in the country, ANZ, Westpac, NAB and Commonwealth Bank of Australia all ended in the green with gains between 0.1% to 0.7%.
In other markets
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index dropped 14.42 points, or 0.5%, to 2,903.49
The Kospi index in Korea gained 13.84 points, or 0.7%, to 2,003.70
Taiwan’s Taiex index picked up 20.28 points, or 0.2%, to 8,485.73
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 added 69.1 points, or 1.2%, to 6,077.62
The ASX 200 improved 20.28 points, or 0.4%, to 5,276.42
.
