China and Hong Kong markets closed down for the second consecutive day, and defense stocks were in focus as China unveiled the latest weapons in a huge Victory Day parade marking the 80th anniversary of Japan's surrender at the end of World War II.
Japan's indexes edged higher ahead of the release of wage data later in the week. Crude oil advanced on supply disruption worries, and gold traded at a new record high ahead of the possible U.S. rate cut.
The blistering pace of rise in China's stock market indexes took a breather as traders reevaluated earnings outlook amid a lack of positive catalysts in the near term.
Japan's benchmark indexes dropped on Monday, following a weakness in Friday's trading on Wall Street. The second U.S. court questioned the legal basis for U.S. tariffs, providing more headroom to negotiators in Japan, India, and China.
Japan's benchmark indexes extended weekly losses after the latest updates on industrial production and retail sales fell short of expectations. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average trimmed this year's gains to 8.7%.
The liquidity-driven market rally extended weekly gains in China indexes as investors awaited the release of earnings from banks. The Hang Seng Index struggled to stay above the flatline ahead of the release of key earnings reports.
Benchmark indexes in Hong Kong declined after Meituan reported sharply lower earnings because of the ongoing price war in the food delivery services. Jiaxin International Resources soared on the first day of trading in Hong Kong.
China and Hong Kong indexes fluctuated, and investors reviewed the latest earnings results. Technology and AI chipmakers soared after Cambricon swung to a profit following a multi-fold surge in revenue in the first half.
Japan's indexes extended two-day losses amid a lack of domestic news and ahead of corporate results later in the week. Market sentiment was cautious as investors worried about the erratic U.S. trade policy.
Stock market indexes in China and Hong Kong turned lower amid lingering uncertainty related to the U.S.-China trade talks. Haidilao International reported sales and earnings weakness amid a challenging market environment.
Investors in Japan took an optimistic view ahead of key economic releases this week and participated in an Asia-wide rally amid speculation that the U.S. Federal Reserve is more likely to lower rates next month.
Japan's core rate of inflation stayed well above the Bank of Japan's target rate, supporting the central bank's rate hike campaign. Food price inflation accelerated, but the surge in rice prices eased a little.
