U.S. jobs data drags Asia down
(CNN) -- Asian stocks are broadly lower Monday in response to weak jobs data from the United States and concerns about the economic outlook.
Wall Street's sharp fall on Friday and uncertainty over oil prices is also weighing on the market.
Japan is showing the heaviest decline, with the Nikkei 225 down 1.3 percent and the broader Topix down 1.1 percent.
Taiwan is about 1 percent in the red, Australia is down 0.9 percent and New Zealand is about half a percent lower. Singapore's market is closed for a national holiday.
The dollar is down against the Japanese yen, trading at 110.29 yen in Tokyo at midday.
The Nikkei 225 stock average has finished the morning session down 1.26 percent to 10,833.70. On Friday the index lost 0.8 percent.
The broader Topix index of all first section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange is down 1.12 percent to 1094.71. The Topix fell 0.87 percent Friday.
Tokyo stocks are lower as wary investors weigh rising oil prices and the gloomy U.S. jobs data. (Full story)
Big exporters such as Sony and Canon are down about 1.6 percent. Hitachi is 3 percent lower to 651 yen and other other tech-related stocks such as Toshiba, NEC and Fujitsu are posting falls for 1 to 2 percent.
Among automakers, Nissan is down 2 percent and Honda is about 1 percent lower. Toyota is off 0.24 percent to 4150 yen. NTT DoCoMo, another market heavyweight, is 1.5 percent lower to 187,000 yen.
Among the big banks, UFJ Holdings is up more than 4 percent to 446,000 yen after suitor Sumitomo Mitusi Financial Group said it offered a 500 billion yen ($4.5 billion) merger proposal. (Full story)
But SMFG is down 1.7 percent to 624,000 yen and rival MTFG is 1.2 percent lower to 922,000 yen. Mizuho is also down 1.7 percent.
In South Korea, the Kospi is down 0.33 percent to 731.56. Samsung Electronics is 2 percent lower at 411,000 won. But big exporter Hyundai Motor is up strongly, putting on 2.3 percent to 46,050 won.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX200 is down 0.86 percent to 3500.1. News Corp is again down, losing almost 2 percent to A$11.25 on caution about its proposed relocation to the United States.
AXA Asia Pacific, which jumped 18 percent Friday after parent AXA unveiled a possible $2.2 billion buyout of minority shareholders, is down about 0.7 percent to A$3.87. (Full story)
Big resources stocks BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto are both about 1.5 percent lower.
New Zealand's Top 50 is down 0.47 percent to 2751.16 after setting a record high last Thursday. Telecom NZ is down 0.6 percent to NZ$6.03.
In Taiwan, the Taiex is about 1 percent lower to 5341.88.
Wall Street ended last week deep in the red. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 1.48 percent to 9815.33 on Friday, while the Nasdaq composite index lost 2.46 percent to 1776.89. (Full story)
