Most Asian stocks struggled higher on Monday but investors were rattled by news that the FBI is planning to review more emails related to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's private server, just a week before the election.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan hit a six-week low on Monday before recovering 0.3 percent. It is set to end the month down 1.6 percent.
Japan's Nikkei fell on Monday as heightened uncertainty over the U.S. presidential election kept investors on edge, but shares of major shipping firms jumped after news that they will merge their container shipping businesses.
The Nikkei fell 0.1 percent to 17,425.02 points, while the broader Topix was marginally higher, adding 0.04 percent to 1,393.02. The Nikkei benchmark index rose 5.9 percent this month.
China stocks ended slightly lower on Monday as sentiment was dampened by warnings from top policymakers about asset bubbles and uncertainties around the U.S. presidential election.
The blue-chip CSI300 index fell 0.1 percent, to 3,336.28, while the Shanghai Composite Index eased 0.1 percent to 3,100.49 point
Hong Kong's benchmark index ended little changed on Monday, but fell 1.6 percent in October, snapping a three-month rising streak and suggesting a strong rally since February is losing steam.
The Hang Seng index fell 0.1 percent to 22,934.54 points, while the China Enterprises Index gained 0.5 percent to 9,559.39.
Reference: Reuters
Thai
Eng