Investing.com - Asian shares were mixed on Monday as equity valuations globally came into focus and political risk in Britain rose with pressure reportedly on Prime Minister Theresa May from rebel parliamentarians.
Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.58%, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.23%. Uber is on the verge of reaching an agreement to sell a stake of the company to Japan's SoftBank, the New York Times reported. The deal would see a group of SoftBank-led investors take a stake of at least 14 percent in Uber, the Times added. Shares of SoftBank were down 1.11%.
In Greater China, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.30% and the Hang Seng index rose 0.27%. Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) said it brought in a record $25 billion in sales on Singles' Day this year, above last year's haul of $17.8 billion. The online shopping event, which initially began as an anti-Valentines' Day celebration of sorts, takes place annually on Nov. 11.
Last week, US stocks closed mostly lower on Friday as energy and health sectors came under pressure while ongoing concerns over a delay to corporate tax cuts weighed on sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed lower at 23,429.97. The S&P 500 closed 0.09% lower while the Nasdaq Composite closed at 6750.94, up 0.01%.
The Dow posted its first weekly loss in nine weeks, struggling to pare Thursday’s losses which followed concerns over a delay to tax cuts after the Senate reveal its version of the tax plan which proposed to delay a cut in the corporate rate until 2019.
On the economic data front, investors digested consumer sentiment data that undershot expectations, adding to the negative outlook on riskier assets.
The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index, showed consumer confidence in the economy cooled, as the index showed a preliminary reading for November of 97.8, missing expectations for reading of 100.7.
Financials, mostly banks, were one of the worst performing sectors of the week, weighing on the broader market amid fears over a flattening yield curve, which usually signals that investors are concerned about the strength of long-term economic growth and inflation.