Asian Markets Mostly Low, China and South Korea Pick Up

Asian indices traded mostly in the red as European woes and a strong Yen affected Japan's export businesses, even though the Chinese and Korean markets ended on a positive note.

The Nikkei 225 ended lower by 0.45 percent at 9,069.29 as Japanese exporters were hit by a stronger Yen and concern over the islands dispute between China and Japan. Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha which fell 6.37 percent and JFE Holdings, down 4.89 percent, were the major losers.

The Shanghai Composite Index rose moderately by 0.32 percent to 2033.19 after a disappointing performance earlier in the day. Taiyuan Heavy Industries, up 9.87 percent, and China Railway Erju Co which rose 7.64, were the better performers.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 0.19 percent to 20694.70. Major losers were China Resources Enterprise which fell 2.12 percent and Aluminium Corp of China, down 1.22 percent.

South Korea's KOSPI was up 0.05 percent to 2,003.44. Major gainers were KwangHee Development-Oriented Self-Administered Real Estate Investment Trust which gained 14.90 percent and DI Corp which rose14.86 percent. Byucksan Corp and KIC were the major losers as shares of both companies fell 14.99 percent.

India's Bombay Stock Exchange was down 0.32 percent at 9:54 GMT. Hindustan Unilever shed 2.75 percent and Housing Development Finance Corp 2.16 percent, the worst performer.

The momentum gained in the recent past following monetary easing announcements from central banks seems to have been lost as investors look to more steps to revive the flagging global economy.

"There is a growing feeling that the market has run up too fast on the ECB and Fed stimulus plans," Chris Weston, institutional dealer at IG Markets in Australia, told the Wall Street Journal.

Europe continues to be a worry as investors speculated on the uncertainty over the Greek budget cuts and reports that European officials could come up with a rescue plan for Spain this week.

On Saturday, Spain had insisted that it would not hurry for a bailout even though the country's economy was under difficult conditions.

Tensions between China and Japan over a territorial dispute also continue to concern the markets.

Investors will be monitoring the situation closely, considering the possibilities of the conflict escalating to make a bigger impact on the economic relations between the two countries.

Meanwhile, a senior advisor to Bank of China has revealed that the country's economy is not picking up while a senior official hinted that the country may continue to impose strict controls on its property sector.