Investing.com - Asia shares were mixed on Monday with Tokyo edging down after weaker than expected trade figures and as markets tread water with a public holiday in the U.S. ahead.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index was down 0.57% as the yen strengthened against the dollar to trade at 112.94, climbing from levels below 114.4 in the previous week. Earlier on Monday, Japan said exports rose 1.3% in January, well below the 4.7% gain expected, while imports jumped 8.5%. more than the 4.7% increase seen for a trade deficit of ¥1.087 trillion ($9.66 billion), compared to a gap of ¥637 billion expected. Japan's exports to the U.S. fell 6.6% and increased 3.1% to China year-on-year.
Among exporters, Sony fell 0.73 percent, Honda was off 0.36 percent and Canon shed 0.70 percent.
In Australia, shares fell 0.33 percent, with the industrials subindex falling 1.70 percent, while the heavily weighted financials subindex was flat. The Shanghai Composite rose 0.79%.
Last week, U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Telecoms, Consumer Goods and Technology sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.02% to hit a new all time high, while the S&P 500 index added 0.17%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 0.41%.