Asia shares mostly down

Asian markets broadly fell on Monday despite an uptick on Wall Street, while traders keep an eye on the release of key indicators out of China and Japan later in the week. Tokyo lost 0.64 per cent, or 90.15 points, to finish at 14,006.44, Sydney eased 1.28 pc, or 70 points, to 5409.0 and Shanghai tumbled 1.05 pe, or 21.32 points, to 2,005.18. Seoul closed flat, edging up 1.7 points to 2,015.14 and Hong Kong also ended almost unchanged, edging down 8.41 points to 22,704.50. Japanese traders were given a lift on Monday by figures showing machinery orders, a leading indicator of corporate capital spending in the country, jumped 19.1 pc on-month in March. The figure beat forecasts of a 6.2 pc rise as firms stocked up ahead of the introduction of a sales tax hike on April 1. With few catalysts to drive buying, investors are looking to the release of Japanese trade data on Wednesday as well as the Bank of Japan’s latest policy meeting. Thursday will see HSBC release its preliminary results on May manufacturing activity in China, with analysts hoping for signs of a pick-up in the world’s number two economy, according to AFP.