Finished utility hole covers and frames stored for shipment at the Ito Tekko Co. foundry in Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture,
- Traders in Asia will watch out for central bank releases this week, including the Bank of Korea's rate decision and minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia's August meeting.
- Core machinery orders in Japan fell 1.7% year on year in June, surprising economists who had expected a 1.8% rise.
Asia-Pacific markets were mixed on Monday after a week that saw a broad rally in stocks, as investors awaited a slew of central bank releases and inflation data this week.
The Bank of Korea will release its rate decision on Thursday, while inflation data from Japan and Singapore will be released on Friday. China will announce its one- and five-year loan prime rates on Tuesday.
Japan's Nikkei 225 was down 1.77%, closing at 37,388.62 while the broad-based Topix fell 1.4% to end at 2,641.14. Both indexes snapped five-day winning streaks.
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Core machinery orders in Japan fell 1.7% year on year in June, surprising economists who had expected a 1.8% rise. Machinery orders are viewed as a proxy for capital expenditure in the country.
Separately, Reuters reported that both Japan's national and Tokyo governments are seeking a 700 billion yen ($4.7 billion) valuation for subway operator Tokyo Metro.
Citing sources, Reuters said the country plans to list the subway operator as early as end-October.
Money Report
Half of the company's shares are planned to be sold in its initial public offering, which means the 350 billion yen IPO would be Japan's biggest IPO since 2018.
South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.85% to close at 2,674.36, and the small-cap Kosdaq slid 1.13% to finish at 777.47.
On the other hand, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.81% as of its final hour of trade, while the mainland CSI 300 was up 0.34%, marking a third straight day of gains and ending at 3,356.97.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 inched up 0.12%, closing at 7,980.4.
On Friday in the U.S., the S&P 500 added 0.2%, the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.21% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 96 points, or 0.24%, rounding off a week of gains.
—CNBC's Brian Evans and Alex Harring. contributed to this report.
