Asian markets start lower

The Asian markets have started the week in the red with all the indices except Seoul Composite in the green. The major losers in the morning trades are Shanghai Composite, Jakarta Composite, Nikkei and Hang Seng down between 0.6-1%.

Japanese shares started low as the market was pressured by a strong yen and disappointing economic data.Also weighing on Japanese shares were monthly data Monday showing an unexpected drop in core machinery orders, which are considered a leading indicator of corporate capital spending.

Hong Kong stocks were weighed by weakness in the real-estate and energy sectors. The Hang Seng index is down 0.6% at 22,281.

On the positive, Seoul Composite gained 0.1% at 2,049 in an otherwise negative market.