A stronger yen is pushing down stock prices in Japan in Monday's initial trading, where the Nikkei 225 index was down 1.1 percent and the Topix index down just as much.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was up, plus 0.9 percent. It is believed that the statement by the American central bank chief Jerome Powell before the weekend lies behind this – that the time has come for interest rate cuts.
The composite indices in Shanghai and Shenzhen showed no major movements, in Shanghai it was down by 0.2 percent and in Shenzhen up by 0.4 percent.
In South Korea, the Kospi index was down 0.3 percent.