Investing.com – Asian stocks were down on Monday, as ongoing concerns over the euro zone’s debt crisis and renewed geopolitical tensions on the Korean peninsula weighed on market sentiment.
During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.12%, South Korea's Kospi Composite shed 0.30%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slumped 0.85%.
Earlier in the day, South Korea started a planned artillery firing drill on Yeonpyeong Island, despite threats of attack by North Korea and pressure from Russia and China to cancel the exercise.
Meanwhile, the Nikkei’s losses came as shares in the financial sector declined amid ongoing concerns over the euro zone’s sovereign debt crisis after ratings agency Moody’s downgraded Ireland’s debt by five notches on Friday.
Shares in Japan’s largest lender Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group fell 0.68%, rivals Nomura Holdings saw shares drop 1.34%, while shares in the nation’s third biggest bank Mizuho Financial Group tumbled 1.96%.
Meanwhile, shares in many of the big name Japanese exporters slumped. Shares in the world’s largest digital camera maker Canon declined 0.60%, while shares in office equipment maker Ricoh, which gets approximately 23% of its revenue from Europe, tumbled 1.93%.
Meanwhile, shares in electronic giant Sony dropped 1.15% after the company’s vice president said sales of televisions in the year ending March 31 may miss a target of 25 million units by a “little bit”.
Elsewhere, in Hong Kong, shares in property developers were broadly lower after a report showed that apartment sales in Hong Kong plunged by 63% in November.
Shares in Hong Kong’s third largest property developer Hang Lung Properties plunged 1.79%, rivals Sino Land Company saw shares drop 1.07%, while shares in property investment firm New World Development saw shares tumble 2.32%.
The outlook for European equity markets, meanwhile, was mixed. The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a drop of 0.21%, France’s CAC 40 futures indicated a loss of 0.18%, the FTSE 100 futures pointed to a decrease of 0.17%, while Germany's DAX futures were up 0.05%.
Later in the day, the euro zone was to publish data on its current account and consumer confidence.
During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.12%, South Korea's Kospi Composite shed 0.30%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slumped 0.85%.
Earlier in the day, South Korea started a planned artillery firing drill on Yeonpyeong Island, despite threats of attack by North Korea and pressure from Russia and China to cancel the exercise.
Meanwhile, the Nikkei’s losses came as shares in the financial sector declined amid ongoing concerns over the euro zone’s sovereign debt crisis after ratings agency Moody’s downgraded Ireland’s debt by five notches on Friday.
Shares in Japan’s largest lender Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group fell 0.68%, rivals Nomura Holdings saw shares drop 1.34%, while shares in the nation’s third biggest bank Mizuho Financial Group tumbled 1.96%.
Meanwhile, shares in many of the big name Japanese exporters slumped. Shares in the world’s largest digital camera maker Canon declined 0.60%, while shares in office equipment maker Ricoh, which gets approximately 23% of its revenue from Europe, tumbled 1.93%.
Meanwhile, shares in electronic giant Sony dropped 1.15% after the company’s vice president said sales of televisions in the year ending March 31 may miss a target of 25 million units by a “little bit”.
Elsewhere, in Hong Kong, shares in property developers were broadly lower after a report showed that apartment sales in Hong Kong plunged by 63% in November.
Shares in Hong Kong’s third largest property developer Hang Lung Properties plunged 1.79%, rivals Sino Land Company saw shares drop 1.07%, while shares in property investment firm New World Development saw shares tumble 2.32%.
The outlook for European equity markets, meanwhile, was mixed. The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a drop of 0.21%, France’s CAC 40 futures indicated a loss of 0.18%, the FTSE 100 futures pointed to a decrease of 0.17%, while Germany's DAX futures were up 0.05%.
Later in the day, the euro zone was to publish data on its current account and consumer confidence.