Investing.com - Asian shares fell on Monday Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi after he suffered a humiliating defeat in a referendum over constitutional reforms and investors eyed a growing spat between the incoming U.S. administration adn China.
with Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.95% with declines across all sub-indexes except for utilities, while the S&P/NZX 50 fell 0.52 percent as Prime Minister John Key said he would resign, citing it as "the right time" as he would not seek a fourth term.
Shares in China fell despite the launch of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect that gives mainland investors access to Hong Kong-listed stocks, and allow international investors to trade Shenzhen-listed stocks. The Shanghai composite fell 0.99%, while the Shenzhen composite slipped 0.37 percent. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was down 0.14%.
Investors eyed headlines over the weekend that saw U.S. president-elect Donald Trump tweet that Beijing manipulates its currency, unfairly taxes U.S. products and has militarized the South China Sea.
The markets shrugged off news that China's services sector rose to a 16-month high in November with a Caixin services PMI at 53.1, from 52.4 in October. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the services sector.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.65%.
Last week, U.S. stocks were mixed after the close on Friday, as gains in the Utilities, Technology and Healthcare sectors led shares higher while losses in the Financials, Telecoms and Consumer Services sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.11%, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.04%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 0.09%.