Asian stocks fell Monday, with markets in Hong Kong and South Korea leading the region lower, as investors pared holdings in stocks ranging from HSBC Holdings to Hyundai Heavy Industries at the start of a pivotal week on the interest rate front.
The Nikkei and Topix index both shed 0.2 percent to end respectively at 15,924.39 and 1,558.51.
Hong Kong' Hang Seng Index reversed earlier gains to end 1.2 percent lower at 28,501.10. The H-share index, or shares of mainland companies listed in Hong Kong, fell 2.5 percent to 17,187.28.
China said it would lift the cap on the amount of money foreigners can invest its capital markets to $30 billion from $10 billion.
Rio Tinto shares climbed 0.8 percent to A$146.70 on Monday after Britain's Telegraph reported private-equity group Blackstone may be forming a consortium including China's sovereign wealth fund, China Investment Corp., to launch a rival bid for the Australian miner.
Shares of Industrial & Commercial Bank of China fell 1.4 percent, while Bank of China eased 1.2 percent. Shares of HSBC Holdings fell 2 percent to HK$134.
Oil producers tracked falling crude prices, with shares of Inpex Holdings shedding 3.3 percent, while Nippon Oil Corp shed 2.5 percent, and Woodside Petroleum falling 2.1 percent and PetroChina eased 3.5 percent.
Shares of Canon rebounded from earlier losses to trade 0.9 percent higher. In Seoul, shares of Samsung fell as much as 6.4 percent while Hyundai skidded 5 percent.
Gainers in Tokyo included Sony Corp., up 2.7 percent on reported upbeat comments on the company's outlook from Goldman Sachs, which cited the benefits of a price cut in spurring sales of the PlayStation 3 game console. Shares of Pioneer added 3.8 percent.
ELSEWHERE:
JAKARTA: Indonesia's JSX Composite was up 0.4 percent.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's KLSE fell 0.8 percent.
SEOUL: South Korea's Kospi fell 1.4 percent.
SINGAPORE: The Straits Times Index fell 0.9 percent.
TAIPEI: Taiwan's Weighted Price Index was down 1.4 percent.
SYDNEY: Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.4 percent.
with files from other wire services
