Asia markets live update: Asia stocks mostly fall

Asia-Pacific markets mostly fell Monday after Wall Street logged its worst session of the year last Friday as U.S. economic data pointed to a slowing economy and sticky inflation.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 0.96%, after notching a nearly three-year high in its previous session.

Mainland China’s CSI300 index fell 0.18% in choppy trading.

In South Korea, the Kospi fell 0.65%, while the small-cap Kosdaq was down 0.71%.

Indian stocks continued to be in negative territory, with the Nifty 50 down 0.98%, while the BSE Sensex index fell 0.97%.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 ended the day 0.14% higher at 8,308.20, breaking its five-session losing streak.

Japanese markets were closed for a public holiday.

Singapore’s core inflation, which strips out accommodation and private transport costs, edged up 0.8% year on year in January, government data showed. This is the lowest reading since June 2021 and is lower than the 1.5% forecast in a Reuters’ poll.

Meanwhile, headline inflation came in at 1.2% year in year, its lowest since February 2021. The reading was also lower than the 2.15% estimated by Reuters.

In U.S., the three major averages closed lower on Friday, as fresh data raised investors’ concerns on the economy. Losses also intensified amid fears of further policy moves by U.S. President Donald Trump, who has already proposed a slew of tariffs and other changes within a month of taking office.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 748.63 points, or 1.69%, to close at 43,428.02. Friday’s decline, its worst this year, brought its two-day losses to roughly 1,200 points. The S&P 500 slid 1.71% to end at 6,013.13, marking a second negative session after the index closed at a record on Wednesday. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.2%, settling at 19,524.01.

— CNBC’s Brian Evans and Lisa Kailai Han contributed to this report.