Asian shares mostly weaker on Korea tension, Greater China gains

Investing.com - Asian shares trended weaker on Monday with Greater China managing gains as U.S.-South Korea joint military drills kicked off and a key meting of global central bankers loomed.

Coming up this week, investors will be looking ahead to speeches by central bankers at the Fed’s annual central bank symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi is key as he has lagged a discussion so far underway in the US. and broached in Japan on the timing and methods to wind down asset buying programs.

Japan's Nikkei 225 slid 0.47%, while South Korea's Kospi was off 0.17%.

The joint military drills, which will take place from Aug. 21 to Aug. 31, come on the back of a ramp up in geopolitical tensions earlier this month after a heated exchange of rhetoric between President Donald Trump and Pyongyang.

Down Under, the S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.48% in mixed news. Fortescue Metals Group said Monday that net profit rose 113% to $2.09 billion for the year ended June 30, 2017. Fortescue shares jumped 6.45% after the miner announced a larger dividend than expected.

But Australian steel company Bluescope saw its stock tumble 20.20% after the company highlighted a weaker outlook for earnings due to competition and lower U.S. margins.

Greater China markets bucked the downward trend. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.57%, while the Shanghai Composite advanced 0.21%.

Last week, U.S. stocks closed lower on Friday, as U.S. political uncertainty continued unabated, after White house chief strategist Steven Bannon resigned.

U.S. stocks moved higher on news of Bannon’s resignation, but gains were short lived as safe demand increased, after investors questioned whether the recent controversies engulfing President Trump would impair his ability to push through pro-growth economic reforms.

Some analysts, however, were quick to downplay the long-term impact of the recent shakeup in the Trump administration.

The political upheaval in Washington overshadowed data showing U.S. consumer sentiment topped forecasts in August.

The consumer sentiment index, a survey of consumers by The University of Michigan, rose to 97.6 in August. Economists estimated the index would climb to 94 from the 93.4 reading in July.

U.S. stocks posted a negative end to a busy week, which included the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s July meeting, showing fed members were divided on future interest rate increases, citing concerns over slow inflation.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed lower at 21,674. The S&P 500 closed 0.18% lower while the Nasdaq Composite closed at 6216.53, down 0.09%.

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