Investing.com - Asian shares were mixed on Monday with attention turning to an address to Congress by U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday where spending and tax plans are expected to get more detail.
Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 1.16% with exporters under pressure from a stronger yen. Toyota eased 0.78%, Honda dropped 1.66% and Sony fell 0.98%.
As well, shares of Japanese airbag maker Takata rose 0.37% after a Wall Street Journal report that it is on the verge of hiring attorney Kenneth Feinberg to sort through claims for its $125 million compensation fund for victims of faulty air bags.
Feinberg ran a similar program for GM and oversaw compensation funds for victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Last month, Takata agreed to plead guilty to wire fraud and pay a total of $1 billion in criminal penalties stemming from its fraudulent conduct in relation to sales of defective airbag inflators. It also announced it will establish two restitution funds: a $125 million fund for individuals physically injured by the faulty airbags who have yet to reach a settlement with Takata, as well as a $850 million fund to shoulder the airbag recall and replacement costs incurred by affected auto manufacturers.
Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 traded down 0.12%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index climbed 0.28% and the Shanghai composite dipped 0.20%.
Last week, U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Utilities, Telecoms and Consumer Services sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.05% to hit a new all time high, while the S&P 500 index added 0.15%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 0.17% despite fears that the ‘Trumpflation trade’ was beginning to taper ahead of President Donald Trump’s speech to Congress next week while financials lagged.
The so-called ‘Trumpflation trade’ showed signs of fatigue during the session, after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Thursday that President Trump’s pro-growth policies, which are viewed as inflationary, would probably have limited impact in 2017.
Financials, mostly banks, which have trended higher on President Trump’s promise of fiscal expansion and decrease regulation, slumped to session lows and capped overall upside momentum in U.S. equities.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:NYSE:GS) , Bank of America (NYSE:NYSE:BAC) (NYSE:BAC.N), and JPMorgan (NYSE:NYSE:JPM) (NYSE:JPM.N) closed lower.
Meanwhile a mixed bag of U.S. economic data had little impact on equities as US new home sales missed expectations while consumer confidence marginally beat analysts’ estimates. The Commerce Department said new home sales rose 3.7 percent to a seasonally-adjusted 555,000 units but missed analysts’ estimates of a 6.3% rise in January.
U.S. consumer sentiment remained upbeat, after The University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Index hit 96.3 in February, compared to expectations of 96.3.
Elsewhere, President Trump signed another executive order, which aims to curb regulations and help businesses but the impact on markets was limited as investors await an update from President Trump concerning his fiscal plans to boost the economy. President Donald Trump is due to address congress on Tuesday, Feb 28.