Shares in Asia ended mixed Monday, even as investors grappled with cues relating to oil and weighed the impact of the recent Japanese earthquake and nuclear crisis.
At close, Japan's Nikkei, Hong Kong's Hang Seng and Australia's ASX lost 0.2% to 0.4%, while China's Shanghai Composite and India's Sensex gained 0.2% and 0.6%, respectively.
Crude-oil futures slipped in Asian trading after rebels protesting against Col Maummar Gaddafi’s regime in Libya captured key oil-rich cities.
The Japanese market was pressured after several companies started weighing in with the likely impact of the recent crisis on their operations.
Stocks on the Move
Shares in Tokyo traded under pressure, losing as much as 1.2% early in the day while managing to trim some losses towards the end.
Heavyweights Toshiba and Hitachi, both of which have nuclear power-plant operations declined 0.5% and 1%, respectively.
Tokyo Electric Power Company, operator of the plants crippled during the quake, shed 17.7%.
In Hong Kong, shares traded turned lower in late trade with China-focused banks witnessing selling. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China lost 0.5% while China Construction Bank was off 2.6%.
In the mainland, Jiangxi Copper rose 1.4% while in other resource stocks, Aluminum Corporation of China gained 3.4%.
Indian stocks rose, led by heavyweight oil and bank stocks. ONGC gained 1.3% while lender State Bank of India rose 1.4%.
In Sydney, selling in mining stocks pressured the broader market: BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto lost 0.7% and 0.2%, respectively.