Asian markets were fairly quiet Monday, though bustling activity by Nintendo made the gaming company stand out.
The Nikkei 225 docked 6.96 points to 16,620.29, as traders viewed key central bank meetings in the U.S. and Japan due later in the week.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index moved up 29.17 points, or 0.1%, to 21,993.44
The Japanese game-console maker closed down 17.7% at 23,220 yen a share, almost 29% down from a high of 32,700 on July 19.
Nintendo on Friday said the impact of the wildly popular "Pokemon Go" mobile app on its consolidated business results will be limited. Creators of the Pokemon franchise, the Pokemon Company, will receive a licensing fee and compensation for collaboration in the development and operations of the application from game-maker Niantic. Nintendo owns a 32% stake in the Pokemon Company.
Nintendo, due to announce earnings later this week, said its forecast took into consideration the production of an accessory that will be used with the "Pokemon Go Plus" application to alert users of nearby Pokemon characters.
The Japanese market also had a muted reaction to better-than-expected export data released before trading opened.
Japan's exports for June fell 7.4% on-year, the ninth consecutive monthly fall, according to Reuters, but the reading was better than the forecast of 11.6% drop from a poll of economists. In volume terms, exports rose 2.9% in June on-year, the first increase in four months.
Imports fell 18.8% on-year, slightly better than the forecast of 19.7% decline. The trade balance was at a surplus of 692.8 billion yen ($6.53 billion U.S.), compared with a 494.8-billion-yen surplus expected
Investors will also be looking forward to the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) two-day monetary policy meeting due to start on July 28, with markets expecting additional fiscal and monetary stimulus to jump-start the country's anemic growth.
On Friday, the Japanese yen, which had fallen to levels near 107.15 against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, spiked to the 106 handle after the BBC aired an interview with BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, in which he ruled out the possibility of "helicopter money" - or essentially printing money and distributing payouts - to tackle deflation in Japan
Elsewhere, shares of Mazda Motor closed up 5.9% at 1,571 yen, after a Nikkei report said the automaker's group operating profit likely dropped 6% to around 50 billion yen ($471 million U.S.) in the three months ended June due to yen strength. But, the Nikkei reported, the number still exceeds the 33-billion-yen market consensus provided by analysts surveyed by Nikkei Quick.
In other markets
The Shanghai CSI 300 eked up 5.73 points, or 0.2%, to 3,230.89
The Taiex Index in Taiwan slumped 21.47 points, or 0.2%, to 8,991.67
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index dropped 15.5 points, or 0.5%, to 2,929.85
In Korea, the Kospi restored 1.98 points, or 0.1%, to 2,012.32
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 added 91.26 points, or 1.3%, to 7,317.31
The ASX 200 regained 35.38 points, or 0.6%, to 5,533.56
