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Hong Kong - Tokyo was the stand-out performer in Asian trade on Monday on upbeat corporate earnings and a record close on Wall Street, but Hong Kong retreated after its rally at the end of last week.
The euro held its own for most of the day before ticking lower towards the end, with no breakthrough in talks between Greece and its creditors on overhauling its bailout terms.
Tokyo ended 0.80% higher, adding 157.35 points to 19 890.27, while Seoul gained 0.34% to 2 113.72.
Shanghai shed 0.58% to 4 283.49 and Sydney fell 1.33% to 5 659.2. Hong Kong sank 0.83% to 27 591.25.
Regional investors were given a positive lead from New York on Friday after more weak data indicated a US recovery may not be as strong as thought - making an interest rate rise unlikely in the near future.
US industrial production fell 0.3% in April, the fifth straight month of decline, while the University of Michigan's US consumer sentiment index plummeted to 88.6 in May from 95.9 in April.
That came after figures last week showed the US producer price index fell in April, confounding forecasts for a rise, while retail sales saw their weakest year-on-year growth since 2009.
"Investors are likely to start the week in cautious mode as markets assimilate the impact of weaker than expected US data and wait on developments in the Greek debt saga," Ric Spooner, chief market analyst in Sydney at CMC Markets, wrote in an e-mail to clients.
"The first Fed rate hike now seems at least several months away. While this supports equity valuations, it also means that the outlook for world growth remains subdued," he said, according to Bloomberg News.
The S&P 500 edged up 0.08% to another record high Friday and the Dow added 0.11% but the Nasdaq dipped 0.05%.
On currency markets the prospect that US rates will remain at record lows for now had little effect on the dollar, which rose to ¥119.74 in Tokyo, from ¥119.41 in New York late on Friday.
The euro fetched $1.1372 and ¥136.17, against $1.1446 and ¥136.67.
While the single currency remains largely supported for now, traders are keeping tabs on Greece's talks with the European Union and International Monetary Fund as they struggle to agree a deal that will release billions of euros of much-needed funds.
With Athens warning it will run out of cash by the end of the month there are fears it will default on its debt obligations, which could lead to it leaving the eurozone.
In Tokyo investor confidence was lifted by the broadly upbeat earnings season, which is drawing to a close.
"Usually companies are quite conservative with their earnings forecasts, but this time the guidance seems to be considerably more positive than usual," said Kuninobu Takeuchi, Tokyo-based executive portfolio manager at DIAM.
"With some ¥230trn slushing around on company balance sheets, giving some of that back to shareholders is being seen as favourable," he added.
Oil prices were higher. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for June delivery gained 89 cents to $60.58 while Brent crude for July rose 85c to $67.66 in afternoon trade.
Gold fetched $1 230.00 from $1 214.19 late on Friday.
In other markets:
- Wellington rose 0.21% to 5 772.71.
Fletcher Building climbed 1.28% to NZ$8.71 and Spark was flat at NZ$2.89.
- Taipei added 0.28% to 9 606.1.
Hon Hai Precision Industry gained 3.97% to Tw$96.8 while Fubon Financial Holding was 1.26% lower at Tw$62.9.
- Manila added 0.36% to 7 910.43.
GT Capital was up 1.63% at 1 433 pesos and Alliance Global added 1.43% to 24.75 pesos, but Universal Robina fell 3.13% to 204 pesos.
- Malaysia's share index gained 0.64% to close on 1 823.50.
Utility giant Tenaga added 2.58% to 14.30 ringgit, Maybank rose 0.43% to 9.36 while Sime Darby lost 0.55% to 8.99 ringgit.
- Jakarta ended up 0.21% at 5 237.81.
Taxi company Blue Bird gained 2.11% to 8 450 rupiah, while cigarette maker Gudang Garam fell 3.12% to 45 050 rupiah.
- Singapore fell 0.10% to 3 459.57.
United Overseas Bank gained 0.08% to Sg$24.20 while investment holding firm Ezion fell 4.64% to Sg$1.13.
- Mumbai gained 1.33% to end at 27 687.30.
Dr Reddys Laboratories rose 3.48% to 3 613.25 rupees, while Hero MotorCorp fell 0.31% to 2 520.60 rupees.
- Thai stocks finished flat, down just 0.12% at 1 510.41
Supermarket giant Big C dropped 2.35% to 208.00 baht while KBank also dipped 0.96% to 206.00 baht.
