Asian Shares Slip Ahead Of Key Inflation Readings

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks ended flat to slightly lower on Monday as the dollar regained traction and Treasury yields climbed ahead of key inflation readings from China and the United States due this week.

Focus was also on earnings reports from some of the largest firms in Asia, with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding, Japanese tech giants Sony Corp and SoftBank Group Corp, and Australian lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia set to unveil their financial results this week.

Meanwhile, a mixed U.S. jobs report released on Friday stoked speculation of a possible Fed pause in September.

Chinese and Hong Kong markets ended lower amid the lack of substantial stimulus details from China.

China's Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.59 percent to 3,268.83 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended little changed with a negative bias at 19,537.92.

Japanese shares edged up slightly, with the Nikkei average rising 0.19 percent to 32,254.56 on optimism over earnings after automakers raising their outlook. The broader Topix index settled 0.41 percent higher at 2,283.93.

Drug maker Astellas jumped 10 percent on receiving approval from the U.S. drug regulator for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Peer Daiichi Sankyo rallied nearly 2 percent.

Chip-related stocks underperformed, with Advantest, Tokyo Electron and Screen Holdings falling between 1 percent and 1.6 percent.

Seoul stocks ended near one-month low, dragged down by auto and battery makers. The Kospi average fell 0.85 percent to 2,580.71, extending losses for a fourth straight session and marking the lowest closing level since July 12.

Hyundai Motor, LG Chem, Kia Corp and POSCO Holdings lost 2-6 percent while search engine Naver jumped 4.9 percent to a near 10-month high on strong second-quarter results.

Australian markets slipped as caution crept in ahead of the release of U.S. and Chinese inflation readings.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 slid 0.22 percent to 7,309.20 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended down 0.21 percent at 7,519.90.

Financials, miners and healthcare stocks lost ground, while firm oil prices helped lift energy stocks.

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index finished marginally lower at 11,934.24.

U.S. stocks fluctuated before ending lower on Friday as Apple reported another quarter of declining revenue and U.S. jobs growth came in weaker than forecast in July.

Data showed non-farm payroll employment rose by 187,000 jobs in July while economists had expected an increase of 200,000 jobs.

Downward revisions to jobs data in May and June suggested that demand for labour was slowing.

The Dow and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite both slid around 0.4 percent while the S&P 500 dropped half a percent.