Nikkei
Japanese equities fell as investors await further economic data from the US, China and Japan for trading cues. Electric appliances and transportation sectors were the largest contributors to the drop.
Topix Index fell 0.4% to 2,381.76 as of market close Tokyo time. Nikkei declined 0.5% to 33,447.67.
Toyota Motor contributed the most to the Topix's decline, decreasing 1.2%. Out of 2,155 stocks in the index, 833 rose and 1,209 fell, while 113 were unchanged. The yen strengthened to hover around 149.11 to the dollar.
"Growth stocks have already reached a significant upper price point in the past week," said Hitoshi Asaoka, a strategist at Asset Management One. Investors are waiting for new material and will be on the watch for further economic data out from the US and China's PMI figures, he added.
Hang Seng
Hong Kong stocks fell Monday, in line with losses across Asia, as investors await the release of key US inflation data later in the week.
The Hang Seng Index eased 0.20 percent, or 34.36 points, to 17,525.06.
The Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.30 percent, or 9.27 points, to 3,031.70, and the Shenzhen Composite Index on China's second exchange lost 0.38 percent, or 7.20 points, to 1,893.39.
Gold
Gold rose to the highest in nearly seven months early on Monday as the US dollar continues to weaken.
Gold for February delivery closed up US$9.50 to US$2,033.00 per ounce, the highest since May 9.
The rise comes as the US dollar continues to weaken on expectations the Federal Reserve is through with raising interest rates as a series of reports show the economy is slowing and inflation is dropping. The US Bureau of Economic Analysis will report personal consumption expenditures price index for October on Thursday, the Fed's preferred inflation measure, with analysts expecting the report to show the core rate dropping to 3.5% annualized from 3.7%, according to Marketwatch.
The ICE dollar index was last seen down 0.07 points to 103.33, down from the month high of 106.88 set on Nov.1.
Treasury yields also eased, with the two-year note last seen paying 4.895%, down 6.5 basis points, while the yield on the 10-year note was down 6.1 basis points to 4.41%.
Oil
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil closed with a loss for a fourth-straight session on Monday on doubts OPEC+ will be able to agree to further reduce production when it meets virtually on Thursday.
WTI crude for January delivery closed down US$0.68 to settle at US$74.86 per barrel, while January Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen down US$0.37 to US$80.21 per barrel.
OPEC+ will meet on Nov.30, a meeting originally scheduled for Sunday, to set production quotas amid weakening prices and falling demand. Saudi Arabia, which is expected to extend its one-million barrel per day voluntary supply cut into the new year, is looking for other members of the cartel to cut output, according to reports, while African members are arguing for higher quotas.
"We believe that compliance to existing cuts will likely be a key topic of conversation at Thursday's OPEC+ meeting, along with production quota baselines, which reportedly contributed to the meeting delay. We still expect an extension of the unilateral Saudi and Russia cuts through at least 2024Q1, and unchanged group cuts, although a deeper group insurance cut is likely on the table," Goldman Sachs noted.
The meeting comes amid slowing demand as developed economies slow under the weight of high interest rates, while inventories climb and production from outside the OPEC+ group is on the rise. The Energy Information Administration last week reported US oil inventories rose by 8.7-million barrels in the prior week, while production there stayed at a record 13.2-million barrels.
