Asia markets traded sideways on Monday, as investors looked past a weekend dominated with Donald Trump inauguration headlines and await clarity on policies including plans to possibly renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement and abandon the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal.
The Nikkei 225 Index stumbled 246.88 points, or 1.3%, to 18,891.03, weighed by the advancing yen as the U.S. dollar/yen pair slipped below the 114 handle.
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong inched upward 12.61 points, or 0.1%, to 22,898.52
Toshiba shares surged 9%, after several media reports that it is in the midst of preparing for the sale of its semiconductor business.
Other major exporters in Japan were hit by the stronger currency. Toyota Motor fell 1.6%, Honda Motor lost 1.7% while Sony was off 1.2% and Panasonic was down 1.6%.
In South Korea, the Kospi closed flat, as the political saga continues with President Park Geun-hye's culture minister and her former presidential adviser arrested on Saturday over allegations that they blacklisted artists critical of the government.
Samsung Electronics was up 1.6% as it finally identified what went wrong with its Galaxy Note 7 handsets that led to one of the worst technology recalls in recent times, a day before its full-year earnings, with the assembly process in layering the batteries and issues in the manufacturing end responsible.
The South Korean electronics giant also filed a compensation suit against Sharp and Kuroda Electric in response to their decision to halt LC panel supplies to the company. Shares of the Japan-listed Sharp jumped 2.7% but Kuroda Electric fell 1.8%.
The new administration in the U.S.said last Friday that its trade strategy to protect American jobs would begin with the withdrawal from the TPP and "crack down on those nations that violate trade agreements and harm American workers in the process."
Australian markets gave back ground, as the industrials sub-index dropped 4%
Logistics company Brambles plunged 15.8% after the company downgraded its earnings guidance for the six months ended December 31, over concerns for its North American operations.
The company expects sales revenue growth at 5%, compared to the previous guidance of 7% to 9% and underlying profit growth to be around 3%, compared to the earlier forecast of 9% to 11%.
In other markets
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 added 9.19 points, or 0.3%, to 3,364.08
In Korea, the Kospi eked up 0.38 points to 2,065.99
The Straits Times Index in Singapore gained 14.4 points, or 0.5%, to 3,025.48
In Taiwan, the Taiex Index spiked 92.59 points, or 1%, to 9,424.05
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 moved up 19.38 points, or 0.3%, to 7,067.85
Australia's ASX 200 subtracted 43.78 points, or 0.8%, at 5,610.97
