The stock market in Japan started the new trading week with a small loss on Monday. Investors took some profit after last week’s substantial price gains and remained cautious in anticipation of the quarterly earnings season.
Elsewhere in the Asian region, stock markets advanced under the leadership of the Chinese financial markets.
The main index in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225, closed 0.3 percent lower at 23,558.69 points. The loss was limited thanks to a substantial increase in Japanese machine orders in August. Yaskawa Electric fell more than 5 percent at the companies.
The Japanese maker of industrial robots expects to cut its dividend payments by about half. Other substantial losers were watchmaker Citizen Watch and industrial conglomerate JGC Holdings, with minuses of more than 4 percent.
In Shanghai, the stock market gauge increased by 2.2 percent in the meantime and Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index improved 2.1 percent. The Chinese banks, in particular, showed substantial price gains.
The Chinese central bank has made it cheaper for banks to speculate on a depreciation of the Chinese yuan.
The policy change reflects the concerns of the Chinese authorities about the strong appreciation of the Chinese currency. The Kospi in Seoul won 0.4 percent, and the All Ordinaries in Sydney climbed 0.5 percent.