Beijing, China (BBN)-Mainland Chinese shares led the rest of the region lower as a raft of government data over the weekend pointed to more signs of weakness in the Chinese economy.
Growth in both fixed-asset investment, up 10.9 per cent in August from a year ago, and factory output, at 6.1 per cent, came in below expectations, reports BBC.
The Shanghai Composite was down 3.2 per cent to 3,097.71 – having lost nearly 40 per cent since its peak in mid-June.
The Hang Seng was down 0.1 per cent to 21,482.
Shares of four of China’s largest brokerages tumbled as much as 7 per cent after fines and penalties were imposed by the securities regulator for failing to conduct proper verification of clients.
The four brokers were fined 178.5m yuan ($28m; £18m) and had 62.4m yuan of profits confiscated, according to the securities filings by the companies.
Regulators have been cracking down on trading firms to stem the volatility that has rocked the markets for the past few months.
FED DECISION WEIGHS
The rest of Asian shares traded mixed, despite Friday’s positive finish on Wall Street, as investors remained cautious in advance of the Federal Reserve meeting this week.
All eyes are on the US policy meeting, which ends with a decision on Thursday on whether to raise interest rates for the first time in almost a decade.
Economists are split on whether the long-awaited move will happen.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 1.7 per cent to 17,949.32 points.
Japanese investors are also looking ahead to the conclusion of the Bank of Japan’s two-day policy meeting on Tuesday, where they are expected to maintain their easing programme.
In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.4 per cent to 5,089.70.
Shares in Oil Search were down 1.1 per cent after it rejected an $8bn (£5.2bn) takeover proposal from Australia’s biggest energy firm Woodside Petroleum, saying the offer was too cheap.
South Korea’s benchmark Kospi was down 0.8 per cent to 1,924.61.
BBN/SK/AD