Asian shares fell on Monday while the dollar held firm near seven-month high after comments from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen that signaled the need for aggressive steps to rebuild the U.S. economy boosted long-dated bond yields.
In Asia, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS dropped 0.5 percent, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng .HSI hitting 1-1/2-month lows.
Japan's Nikkei share average rose in choppy trade on Monday as the dollar was steady against the yen, while Tokyo Electric Power stumbled after an anti-nuclear candidate won a Japanese regional election.
The Nikkei ended 0.3 percent higher at 16,900.12.
China stocks fell the most in three weeks on Monday, with sentiment soured by a late-afternoon tumble in Shanghai's U.S. dollar-denominated B shares as the yuan continued to weaken.
The blue-chip CSI300 index fell 0.8 percent to 3,277.88, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.7 percent to 3,041.17 points.
The indexes ended the morning session roughly flat, but began sliding in the afternoon as Shanghai's B-share index tumbled over 6 percent.
Hong Kong shares drifted near 1-1/2-month lows on Monday, as a cautious mood prevailed ahead of a slew of China data this week that investors hope will paint a clearer picture of how the world's second largest economy is faring.
The Hang Seng index fell 0.8 percent, to 23,037.54, while the China Enterprises Index lost 0.6 percent, to 9,541.08 points.
Reference: Reuters
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