By Laura He, MarketWatch
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Asian stocks ended mostly lower on
Monday, with mainland China and Australia leading losses.
The Shanghai Composite Index closed down 1.1%, with property
stocks taking a hit from news that China's real estate prices in 70
major cities showed further signs of a slowdown. The weakness of
the property market also weighed on Hoog Kong markets, as the Hang
Seng Index closed negative after trimming earlier losses, down
0.04%.
Meanwhile, Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 settled 1.3%
lower, as a fall in spot iron-ore prices hit the miners hard. The
Australian dollar (AUDUSD) weakened to 93.52 U.S. cents from 93.64
U.S. cents.
Japanese stocks also retreated, as the Nikkei Average dropped
0.6%, and the Topix index declined 0.8%. The yen (USDJPY) advanced
against the dollar, trading at Yen101.325 from Yen101.540 in the
prior session.
However, South Korea's KOSPI index inched up 0.1%.
Among market movers in Shanghai, leading developer China
Merchants Property Development fell 1.5%, and rival China Vanke
dropped 1%. In Hong Kong, top losers in the property sector
included China Overseas Land & Investment , down 1.4%, China
Resources Land , down 1.2%, and Country Garden Holdings , down
1%.
In Australia, iron ore producer Fortescue Metals Group slid
4.6%, mining giant Rio Tinto tumbled 3%, and rival BHP Billiton
declined 1.7%.
China real-estate prices cool further
China's property prices are showing further signs of a slowdown
amid government curbs.
For example, the latest data show Beijing's prices for
second-home purchases falling in April by the most in two years,
while newly built residential-housing price gains eased for the
sixth straight month.
But with the government taking action, some economists say the
problem may get less severe, even if prices continue lower.
Read details on the latest numbers and analyst reaction
here.
More MarketWatch news and commentary:
Asia Stocks live blog: Week starts with a whimper
Stephen: Does China risk a Japan-style lost decade?
AT&T strikes deal for DirecTV worth $67.1 billion
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires