Asia-Pacific markets drop as negative sentiment remains

Shares in the Asia-Pacific mostly fell sharply on Monday as negative sentiment continues to weigh in on markets, reports CNBC.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan dropped 2.66 per cent to 26,431.55, and the Topix also slipped 2.71 per cent to 1,864.28. South Korea's Kospi tumbled 3.02 per cent to 2,220.94 and the Kosdaq plunged 5.07 per cent to 692.37.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 declined 1.6 per cent to 6,469.40. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 1.34 per cent lower.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.21 per cent in the final hour of trade, erasing earlier gains, with the Hang Seng Tech Index bucking the trend and rising by 1.61 per cent. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite fell 1.2 per cent to 3,051.23 and the Shenzhen Component was down 0.398 per cent to 10,962.56.
The Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy committee is scheduled to meet later this week, and China is expected to release data on factory activity at the end of the week.
Onewo, a subsidiary of property developer China Vanke, is set to debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange this week as well.
Woodside has the lowest production costs among Australian LNG producers, and is not subject to the "political meddling" that its peers are under, Atlas Funds Management said.
Santos and Origin Energy face pressure to keep gas for local consumption instead of exporting it, Atlas' Chief Investment Officer Hugh Dive told CNBC's "Street Signs Asia."
"There are a lot of moves and political meddling there to conserve gas into the East Coast… gas in Woodside is exported up into East Asia," he said.
Woodside is located in West Australia whereas peers like Santos and Origin are located on the East Coast of Australia and may be forced to sell their energy locally at a discounted price.