In Seoul, the benchmark KOSPI slipped 0.3 percent to 4,143.55, while the KOSDAQ added 0.4 percent to 931.35. Market sentiment was subdued as traders awaited the outcome of the two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting beginning Tuesday U.S. time, where policymakers will decide the December rate move.
The KOSPI retreated after two sessions of gains, dragged lower by heavyweight tech shares Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. Samsung slid 0.9 percent to 108,400 won ($73.8), and SK hynix dropped 1.9 percent to 566,000 won. LG Energy Solution, the third-largest stock by market cap, fell 1.8 percent to 443,500 won.
Autos also weakened. Hyundai Motor declined 2.7 percent to 307,000 won, Kia slipped 1.4 percent to 123,800 won, and KB Financial Group lost 1.5 percent to 126,000 won.
Entertainment stocks were mixed to slightly higher. HYBE rose 0.7 percent to 291,000 won, JYP Entertainment edged up 0.3 percent to 67,800 won, and YG Entertainment added 0.5 percent to 61,800 won, while SM Entertainment dipped 0.4 percent to 101,600 won.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 inched up 0.1 percent to 50,655.10 as large-cap shares moved unevenly. Toyota Motor, the index’s biggest constituent, rose 0.2 percent to 3,066 yen ($19.6), and SoftBank Group gained 0.8 percent to 18,800 yen. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group slipped 0.5 percent to 2,486 yen, and Nintendo tumbled 3.4 percent to 11,900 yen. Canon climbed 1.3 percent to 4,635 yen, and Panasonic Holdings advanced 1.5 percent to 1,886.5 yen.
NHK on Monday released a survey of 1,192 adults showing that 54 percent were concerned that China–Japan tensions could negatively affect the Japanese economy—14 percent saying they were “very worried” and 40 percent “somewhat worried.”
In China, the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.4 percent to 3,909.52.
China’s exports rose more than expected in November, according to customs data released Monday. Shipments increased 5.9 percent from a year earlier to $330.35 billion, beating economists’ forecasts of a 3.8 percent gain in a Reuters poll and 4 percent in a Bloomberg survey. The country’s trade surplus for January–November reached $1.08 trillion, topping the $1 trillion mark for the first time on record.
Some Chinese economists say the surplus is now too large and is weighing on domestic demand. Zhang Jun, dean of the School of Economics at Fudan University, said in a recent speech that China should consider narrowing the surplus—and even running a deficit in the long term—to stimulate consumption.
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