Major stock markets in Asia-Pacific traded mostly lower on Monday after the clashes in Ukraine continued, with the countries authorities reporting that the airport in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro was destroyed in Russian shelling.
On the economic front, Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda stated that the Japanese central bank will "maintain an ultra-loose policy" in order to stably achieve the desired 2% inflation rate target. Furthermore, China's consumer price index (CPI) increased in March by 1.5% year-over-year, the country's National Bureau of Statistics relayed.
Japan's Nikkei 225 fell by 0.71% at 4:30 am CET, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.13% at the same time. South Korea's Kospi was down 0.45% at 4:30 am CET. The Shanghai Composite declined 1.59% at 4:15 am CET in mainland China. At the same time, the Shenzhen Composite fell 2.33%. Furthermore, Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 2.82% at 4:30 am CET. The dollar gained 0.52% against the Japanese yen at 4:28 am CET, trading for ¥124.9240.
