Investing.com - Asian stock markets were mostly lower on Monday, as investors continued to monitor events in Ukraine, after results of Sunday's referendum showed voters in Crimea voting to join Russia.
During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 0.25%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.96%, Australia’s ASX/200 Index closed 0.22% lower, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index ended down 0.35%.
Tensions between Russia and the West mounted after over 90% of Crimean voters on Sunday chose to break with Ukraine and join Russia.
U.S. President Barack Obama said Washington rejected the results of the referendum and warned that the U.S. was ready to impose sanctions on Moscow.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei ended at a one-month low as traders continued to monitor movements in the currency market. USD/JPY rose to a daily high of 101.66, moving off the previous session’s five-week low of 101.19.
Meanwhile, in Australia, the ASX/200 Index also closed at the weakest level in a month as investors continued to monitor events in Ukraine.
Elsewhere, shares in mainland China edged higher after the People's Bank of China said over the weekend that it has decided to widen the yuan's daily trading band, allowing it to move up or down by 2% from the daily rate set by the central bank.
Looking ahead, European stock market futures pointed to a modestly higher open as investors awaited the West's response to Crimea's vote to break away from Ukraine and join Russia.
The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a gain of 0.45%, France’s CAC 40 futures added 0.15%, London’s FTSE 100 futures indicated a rise of 0.25%, while Germany's DAX futures picked up 0.45%.
The euro zone is to release data on consumer price inflation.
Across the Atlantic, U.S. equity markets also pointed to a firmer open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a gain of 0.15%, S&P 500 futures inched up 0.15%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a rise of 0.2%.
The U.S. is to publish data on manufacturing activity in the Empire State, as well as reports on industrial production and long term securities transactions.