Hong Kong--Tokyo was the stand-out performer in Asian trade Monday on upbeat corporate earnings and a record close on Wall Street, but Hong Kong retreated after its rally at the end of last week.
The euro held its own for most of the day before ticking lower towards the end, with no breakthrough in talks between Greece and its creditors on overhauling its bailout terms.
Tokyo ended 0.80 percent higher, adding 157.35 points to 19,890.27, while Seoul gained 0.34 percent, or 7.22 points, to 2,113.72.
Shanghai shed 0.58 percent, or 25.20 points, to 4,283.49 and Sydney fell 1.33 percent, or 76.3 points, to 5,659.2. Hong Kong sank 0.83 percent, or 231.03 points, to 27,591.25.
Regional investors were given a positive lead from New York Friday after more weak data indicated a US recovery may not be as strong as thought -- making an interest rate rise unlikely in the near future.
US industrial production fell 0.3 percent in April, the fifth straight month of decline, while the University of Michigan's US consumer sentiment index plummeted to 88.6 in May from 95.9 in April.
That came after figures last week showed the US producer price index fell in April, confounding forecasts for a rise, while retail sales saw their weakest year-on-year growth since 2009.
"Investors are likely to start the week in cautious mode as markets assimilate the impact of weaker than expected US data and wait on developments in the Greek debt saga," Ric Spooner, chief market analyst in Sydney at CMC Markets, wrote in an e-mail to clients.
AFP
