Investing.com - Asian shares were mixed on Monday in thin regionl trade that saw Mainland China get a boost.
In Australia, the ASX 200 fell 1%. The heavily-weighted financials subindex was down 1.28 percent as major banking stocks came under pressure. Shares of ANZ were down 1.26%, Commonwealth Bank fell 0.96%, Westpac eased 1.54% and the National Australia Bank slid 1.44%
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 0.84% The Shanghai composite bucked the generally downward trend to trade up 0.11%. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index traded up 0.46%.
Last week, U.S. stocks retreated from record highs, on the back of growing U.S. political jitters and an earnings report from General Electric (NYSE:GE) that undershot Wall Street estimates dragging the broader market lower.
The political scandal engulfing President Trump heated up on Friday, after Special counsel Robert Mueller asked the White House to preserve all documents relating to the June 2016 meeting that Trump and other associated had with a Russian Lawyer.
Also weighing on sentiment was a tumble in energy, following a 2.5% slump in crude prices ahead of the Opec meeting on July 24.
Analysts, however, expect earnings to be the main catalyst as earnings season is set to gather pace with about 170 S&P 500 constituents scheduled to report next week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed lower at 21,580.07. The S&P 500 0.04% lower while the Nasdaq Composite closed at 9387.75, down 0.15%.