Major stock indices in the Asia-Pacific region traded mostly lower on Monday, with South Korea's Kospi dropping 2.62% amid heightened political tensions. A motion to impeach President Yoon Suk-yeol over his imposition of martial law was dismissed on Saturday due to insufficient votes, while his defense minister was named a suspect in an insurrection case, and authorities are reportedly considering a travel ban on Yoon. Elsewhere, China's inflation slowed from 0.3% to 0.2%.
At 7:06 am CET, South Korea's Kospi plummeted 2.62%. At the same time, Japan's Nikkei 225 traded 0.08% higher while Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.63%. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite decreased by 0.30% while the Shenzhen Composite went down by 0.28%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 closed flat.
The dollar traded flat against the yen at 7:06 am CET, selling for 149.9710.