Japan's Nikkei Stock Average was down 0.5%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up 1.0%, South Korea's Kospi Composite slipped 0.2%, and New Zealand's NZX-50 was up 0.1%.
Stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs data on Friday and Wall Street's rise underpinned early sentiment, but investors remained wary because of renewed worries about the euro zone's debt problems. Greek and German officials denied a report by the German magazine der Spiegel on Friday that the debt-stricken country was considering leaving the 17-nation currency bloc. Still, the report served to highlight the severe problems faced by some nations in the euro-zone periphery.
"Risk aversion remains slightly elevated, suggesting that an overall cautious tone will remain over coming days," Crédit Agricole said in a note to clients.
In Tokyo, concerns about potential power shortages hurt the market, after Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Friday called for the Hamaoka nuclear power plant, located near an earthquake fault line southwest of Tokyo, to suspend its operations.
"Japan will need to reassess its nuclear-power policy, which may impose tough options for electric-power companies," said Masayoshi Yano, a senior market analyst at Meiwa Securities.
Seventeen of 22 Topix subindexes were lower, with Chubu Electric Power, the operator of the Hamaoka plant, tumbling 12%. Exporters' stocks were mixed; Sony was up 1.8%, and Elpida Memory rose 1.5%, while Toyota Motor fell 0.4%. Fast Retailing was down 2.3% despite the company on Friday posting a 4.6% on-year rise in domestic same-store Uniqlo sales in April, as the outcome was weaker than market expectations.
Softbank tacked on 0.8% following a Nikkei report that it is expected to log a 30% on-year increase in its group operating profit for the fiscal 2010 year.
Australian shares rose, taking comfort from the better-than-expected U.S. payrolls report, with the benchmark S&P/ASX index tapping a four-day high around 4792. "Greece could well be the fly in the ointment, but for the moment, we are reacting to Friday's strong U.S. jobs data," said Macquarie Private Wealth investment adviser John Milroy. Energy, materials and financials were strongest, with Woodside Petroleum up 1.2%, BHP Billiton up 1%, and ANZ Bank 1.3% higher.
Shares in construction- and mining-services provider Ausenco jumped 8.9% after it announced a contract at Taseko Mines' Gibraltar copper-molybdenum project in Canada.
The Seoul market was choppy as investors were torn between positive sentiment stemming from Friday's U.S. jobs report and the Greek debt concerns.
Oil-refining stocks outperformed the market after Friday's selloff. SK Innovation rose 1.6%, and S-Oil advanced 2.2%. Tech plays were mixed, with Samsung Electronics down 0.4%, LG Electronics up 0.1%, and Hynix Semiconductor up 1.5%.
In foreign-exchange markets, the euro bounced against the U.S. dollar as traders digested denials by Greek and German officials of the der Spiegel article.
Despite the denials, the Greek debt problems reinforced the tough situation faced by the euro zone's periphery nations.
"A Greek exit [from the] monetary union remains highly unlikely, but the odds must be recognized above zero," Brown Brothers Harriman said in a note to clients. "Aside from the direct and indirect financial costs to banks, including the European Central Bank, if Greece were to leave, it would raise the risk that others would exit and could fatally undermine the entire monetary union, if not the European Union itself, which Greece apparently would have to leave as well," it said.
The single currency was fetching $1.4385 against the greenback, from $1.4315 in New York late Friday, and ¥116.17 against the yen, from ¥115.49. The dollar was at ¥80.73, compared with ¥80.65.
Lead Japanese government bond futures were down 0.06 at 140.69 points, while the yield on the 10-year cash JGB was up 0.005 basis point at 1.140%. "With the 141 level in sight for the futures price, and 1.1% for the 10-year yield, there will likely be a sense of caution over high prices," said Tetsuya Miura, chief market analyst at Mizuho Securities.
Oil prices were modestly higher in Asia after last week's sharp selloff. June New York Mercantile Exchange crude-oil futures were up 52 cents at $97.70 a barrel on Globex. Gold and silver prices, which tumbled last week and sparked a broad selloff in commodities and metals, struggled to recover.
Spot gold was fetching $1,494.00 a troy ounce, down $1.40 from its New York settlement Friday, while spot silver was up 10 cents at $35.72 an ounce. For the latest updates PRESS CTR + D or visit Stock Market news Today
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