Asian shares mostly down on Syriza party win in Greece

Investing.com - Asian shares mostly fell on Monday as Greece's Syriza was on track to form the next government and roll back austerity measures in moves that could sour relations with creditors.

The Nikkei 225 fell 0.64% while the Hang Seng eased 0.12% in afternoon trade while the Shanghai Composite edged up 0.12%

The party has pledged to force Greece’s creditors to renegotiate the terms of the country’s €240 billion euro financial bailout, which has roiled markets and imperiled moves to provide more funding for the country.

Earlier Japan's December trade balance showed a deficit of ¥660.7 billion,narrower than the deficit of ¥740 billion yen expected, and narrower than the ¥829 billion deficit seen in November.

The Bank of Japan's minutes on monetary policy showed its focus on inflation is with expectations from consumers are key for policy going forward.

The Bank of Japan board said that underlying trend in prices needs to be monitored more closely for expectations on inflation and wages, according to the minutes of its Dec. 18-19 meeting released Monday.

The minutes showed policymakers didn't think additional monetary easing was necessary even in the face of sharp drops in crude oil prices globally that is expected to see the year-on-year rise in consumer prices likely to decelerate further.

"One member said that the primary focus should be on the underlying trend in prices when considering the future conduct of monetary policy, and that the key was developments in inflation expectations in a broad context," the minutes said.

"Many members expressed the view that there had been steady progress in the conversion of the deflation mindset despite the further drop in crude oil prices and the decline in the actual inflation rate."

At its monthly policy meeting, the BOJ board decided by an 8 to 1 vote to leave the bank's policy target unchanged while board member Takahide Kiuchi remained opposed to the Oct. 31 easing. The board maintained its cautious growth and inflation outlook adopted nearly two months earlier.

"Some members said that, according to surveys conducted on households, firms, and economists, medium- to long-term inflation expectations had generally been maintained, and the December 2014 Tankan had shown that firm continued to expect a rise in the inflation rate," the minutes said.

Last week, U.S. stocks were mixed after the close on Friday, as gains in the Utilities, Technology and Consumer Services sectors led shares higher while losses in the Basic Materials, Consumer Goods and Telecommunications sectors led shares lower.

At the close in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.79%, while the S&P 500 index declined 0.55%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 0.16%.

In the week ahead, investors will be focusing on Friday’s preliminary data on fourth quarter growth, while the latest euro zone inflation data is also due out on Friday.

Wednesday’s Federal Reserve monetary policy statement will be closely watched, while New Zealand’s central bank is also to hold a policy meeting.

On Monday, in Germany, the Ifo research group is to publish its report on business climate.

The U.K. is to release private sector data on mortgage approvals.