- For the Jobless, 10% is Harder Than Before
- Week Ahead: Stocks Search for Catalyst in Quiet Week
- Outlook: Dollar Likely to Ride Higher on Bleak Jobs Report
- Geithner: More Stimulus, Not a Bank Tax
- Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Says Net Income Tripled
- Cramer: Earnings, IPOs Dominate Next Week
- Buying Fear: How to Own Volatility
- Administration Rejects Plan to Buy Fannie Mae Credits
- Consumers Haven't Changed —They Just Got Pickier
- Food Network, HGTV Drive Scripps Networks' Upside Surprise
- Tommy Lee, Medical Tourism and Nasty Santa, Your Emails
- U.S. Markets Gain 3% for the Week Despite 10.2% Unemployment
- Disney's 'Carol' Tests Widest 3-D Release Ever
- Stimulus II? Jobs Tax Credit=Cash For Clunkers
- Rockwell Automation Earnings: What Options Are Saying
- Gold Will Touch Higher Lows and Higher Highs: Analyst
- Is Misery Alive And Well in Your Office?
- Consumers Haven't Changed, They Are Just Pickier
Text Size 
Asian markets were mostly lower Monday with many investors stuck to the sidelines as the second quarter winds down. The U.S. dollar recovered from a slide on worries about the push by major emerging countries for a reserve currency alternative.
Asian shares outside Japan have surged 32 percent in the second quarter, which would be the best quarterly gain in 16 years, as investors embraced the region on hopes it would emerge more quickly from the deepest global recession in decades.
Japanese economic figures highlighted this trend. Industrial output jumped a hefty 5.9 percent in May for a third straight month of growth, but forecasts showed that factories expected the recovery to taper off in coming months.
A drop in oil prices pulled down energy-related shares, with Japan's Nippon Oil losing nearly 2 percent. Crude oil prices [US@CL.1
Loading...
()
] fell below $69 a barrel on easing tensions in major exporter Nigeria. The U.S. dollar inched higher [$$EURUSD
Loading...
()
] after being hit on Friday when China's central bank renewed calls for a super-sovereign currency to reduce the U.S. dollar's global domination, saying it was a serious defect in the international system for one currency to tower over all others.
On the sidelines of a meeting of central bankers over the weekend, China and Brazil said they were discussing a currency arrangement to allow exports and importers to settle deals in local currencies, thereby avoiding the dollar.
Japan's Nikkei 225 Average [JP;N225
Loading...
()
] finished down 1 percent with battery maker GS Yuasa ending a recent surge after a brokerage downgrade and Daiwa Securities Group tumbling after announcing a $2.5 billion share sale. Oil extended losses towards $68, helping drag Mitsubishi Corp and other trading houses lower.
South Korea's KOSPI closed 0.4 percent lower, with Kumho Industrial tumbling on worries about potential financial losses from the Daewoo Engineering sale, but shares in Daewoo Engineering spiked, while automakers also outperformed.
Australian shares fell 0.4 percent after a choppy session as moderate losses in global miners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto dragged on the broader index.
More From CNBC.com
Hong Kong shares fell 0.4 percent. Stocks hovered as investors clung to the sidelines ahead of the expiration of index futures on Monday and a heavy calendar of key data releases from the U.S. and China later this week. Bucking the trend, CITIC Pacific jumped after Goldman Sachs added the company to its conviction buy list, arguing that the steel-to-property conglomerate's valuation looked attractive compared with Chinese peers.
Singapore's Straits Times Index was flat at the close with a mixed showing by blue chips. Property counter Capitaland led the declines, down 0.5 percent.
China's Shanghai Composite Index was up 1.6 percent, lifted by property and consumer goods sectors, while signs of economic recovery and ample liquidity had analysts betting on a new year-high for the main Shanghai index this week. Property shares led the rise with industry leader China Vanke gaining.
Print
Email
- Rumors abound that Oprah will leave her show to start a new network. What would this mean for daytime TV?
- Berkeley's Chez Panisse and the trend of eating locally grown, pesticide-free seasonal foods.
- Cramer did the research and found eight stocks that lead the pack. Read on to get his top picks.
- Did Hideki Matsui’s performance make it more likely that the Yankees will pay to have him back?
- Which wines should you bring—or serve—with holiday meals this year? Ask a connoisseur.
- Two competitors in this year’s World Series of Poker in Las Vegas have stories fit for Hollywood.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes