In today’s trading session, Asian shares mostly dropped after US stocks ended the week positively despite Nvidia’s stock cooling off from its remarkable surge. 

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index increased by 0.5% to 38,804.65, making it the only major Asian benchmark to post gains on Monday. The Japanese yen weakened to 159.72  per dollar, compared to 159.77 per dollar on Friday. 

Minutes from the Japanese central bank’s last policy meeting released on Monday put additional pressure on the yen, indicating that any change in the policy interest rate should be considered only after economic indicators confirm that, for example, the CPI inflation rate has started to rebound and medium-to-long-term inflation expectations have increased. 

In addition, it was reported that Masato Kanda, a vice minister of the Japanese Finance Ministry, stated that officials were prepared to intervene to support the currency at any time. 

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell by 0.8% to 17,893.33, while the Shanghai Composite declined by 0.7% to 2,978.50.

China’s fiscal revenue also dropped by 2.8% in the first five months of 2024 compared to the previous year, an acceleration from the 2.7% decline observed in the January-April period, according to official data released on Monday. This decline is attributed to weak demand hampering economic recovery. 

Fiscal expenditure increased by 3.4% in the first five months, slightly down from a 3.5% rise in the first four months, as per data from the finance ministry. 

For May alone, fiscal revenue decreased by 3.2% year-on-year, improving from a 3.7% decrease in April. Fiscal spending grew by 2.6% in May, compared to a 6.1% increase in April, based on Reuter’s calculations using the ministry’s data. 

Meanwhile, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped by 0.8% to 7,733.70. In South Korea, Kospi went down by 0.7% to 2,766.13.