Asia shares mixed after Yellen speech

Asian markets were mixed on Monday following a broadly negative lead from Wall Street after the head of the US central bank said she was still concerned about employment in the country. While Janet Yellen's speech on Friday said slackness in the jobs market would likely staunch inflation, investors noted her acknowledgement of calls for an early interest rate rise, which in turn lifted the dollar to a seven-month high against the yen. Seoul stocks put on 0.10 per cent, but Hong Kong slipped 0.44 per cent, Shanghai shed 0.28 per cent and Sydney was 0.27 per cent lower. Tokyo edged up as investors welcomed the dollar’s rise following Fed chief’s defence of current monetary policy. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index rose 0.20 per cent, or 30.38 points, to 15,569.57 by the break. The Topix index of all first-section issues was up 0.18 per cent, or 2.31 points, at 1,288.38, according to AFP.