Asian shares slip

Asian markets tumbled on Monday following a surprisingly poor batch of economic data out of China, while revised Japanese figures showed 2013 growth was slower than expected. The losses came after healthy gains on most bourses last week and despite jobs growth in the United States, while investors are keeping an eye on events in Ukraine as leaders try to find a peaceful resolution to the crisis. Tokyo slipped 1.01 percent, or 153.93 points, to 15,120.14, Sydney fell 0.93 percent, or 50.8 points, to 5,411.5 and Seoul was 1.03 percent lower, giving up 20.26 points, to end at 1,954.42. Shanghai dived 2.86 percent, or 58.84 points, to 1,999.07 while Hong Kong sank 1.75 percent, or 395.56 points, to 22,264.93. Beijing said Saturday it had seen an unexpected trade deficit of $22.98 billion in February, according to AFP.