Markets mixed after Wall Street's losing week

BEIJING - Asian stock markets were mixed Monday following Wall Street's losing week as investors looked ahead to a week of data releases and public comments by central bankers.

KEEPING SCORE: The Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.3 per cent to 3,443.36 and Tokyo's Nikkei 225 fell 0.7 per cent to 22,527.21. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.3 per cent to 29,195.14 and Seoul's Kospi shed 0.4 per cent 50 2,534.07. Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 shed 0.2 per cent to 6,019.30 and benchmarks in New Zealand and Taiwan also fell. Singapore and Jakarta advanced.

WALL STREET: U.S. stocks fell for a second day Friday - the first time that has happened in a record-setting month. Medical device slumped after a Citigroup analyst said Amazon might be on the verge of shaking up their industry by speeding up distribution and cutting prices. Energy companies gave up some recent gains while retailers, media companies and household goods companies moved higher. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 0.1 per cent to 2,582.30, finishing the week down 0.2 per cent after setting a record Wednesday. The Dow Jones industrial average slid 0.2 per cent to 23,422.21. The Nasdaq composite turned higher and rose 0.89 points to 6,750.94.

WEEK AHEAD: Central banker Haruhiko Kuroda of Japan inaugurates a data-heavy week with a speech Monday, followed Tuesday by public comments from Janet Yellen of the United States, Mark Carney of Britain and Mario Draghi of the European Central Bank. The United States reports inflation and retail sales on Wednesday, while Japan reports factory output. The United States follows Thursday with factory output.

ANALYST'S TAKE: "We are likely to see October U.S. inflation dipping again (as hurricane effects drop out), confounding thoughts of a medium term pick-up in inflation as the economy tightens further," said Rob Carnell of IG in a report. "As well as inflation, the week ahead offers glimpses into recent economic growth in the G-7. Individual Eurozone country GDP figures will start to emerge this week, with the bulk of them likely to support the prevailing view that Eurozone growth is pretty strong. Japanese GDP, however, is due a pullback from the 2Q surge."

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude gained 7 cents to $56.81 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 43 cents on Friday to close at $56.74. Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 7 cents to $63.59 in London. It lost 39 cents the previous session to $63.52.

CURRENCY: The dollar rose to 113.67 yen from Friday's 113.21 yen. The euro advanced to $1.1651 from $1.1643.

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