Investing.com - Asian stock markets were mostly lower on Monday, as concerns over escalating violence in Iraq weighed on sentiment.
During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng dipped 0.1%, China’s Shanghai Composite inched up 0.72%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.13% higher, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 ended down 1.09%.
Markets continued to monitor events in Iraq as militants linked to al-Qaeda threatened to take Baghdad after capturing key cities elsewhere in the country over the weekend.
Trading was also cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy review on Wednesday.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei fell sharply as traders continued to monitor movements in the currency market. The yen fell to ¥101.71 against the U.S. dollar, compared to ¥101.97 on Friday.
Meanwhile, in Australia, the ASX/200 Index swung between small gains and losses in subdued trade, while the Australian dollar re-approached a five-week peak against the greenback.
The Aussie strengthened to 94.15 U.S. cents from 94.00 U.S. cents in the prior session.
Looking ahead, European stock market futures pointed to a modestly lower open. The Euro Stoxx 50 futures pointed to a loss of 0.45%, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.3%, London’s FTSE 100 indicated a drop of 0.2%, while Germany's DAX shed 0.25%.
Across the Atlantic, U.S. equity markets also pointed to a weak open. The Dow futures pointed to a loss of 0.2%, the S&P 500 inched down 0.25%, while the Nasdaq 100 indicated a fall of 0.25%.
The U.S. is to produce data on industrial production and manufacturing activity in the Empire State later in the day.