Asian markets were sharply lower Monday morning, ahead of central bank meetings in the US and Japan this week and amid jitters over the upcoming referendum on whether the UK would remain in the European Union.

Japan's Nikkei 225 was down 3.03 percent, as a relatively strong yen pressured stocks. The yen maintained its strength against the greenback ahead of the Bank of Japan's two-day policy meeting starting June 15. The currency pair traded at 106.18 as of 9:39 a.m. HK/SIN, compared with levels around 106.80 on Friday afternoon local time.

Across the Korean Strait, the Kospi was down 1.56 percent. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index dropped 2.3 percent after market open. Chinese mainland markets were also sharply lower, with the Shanghai composite down 1.16 percent and the Shenzhen composite off by 1.52 percent.

Stateside, US futures were lower, with Nasdaq futures down around 18 points and Dow Jones industrial average futures off around 61 points in morning Asia time.

On Sunday night, the US reeled after at least 50 people were killed and more than 50 others were wounded after a gunman opened fire and took hostages at a gay club in Orlando, Florida. It was America's worst-ever mass shooting and law enforcement officials called it an incident of domestic terrorism.

Elsewhere, early polls have shown a majority of British people are in favor of leaving the European Union, ahead of the June 23 referendum vote. The pound was under pressure, trading at USD 1.4187 as of 9:40 a.m. HK/SIN on Monday, compared with levels between USD 1.4500 and USD 1.4600 in the previous week.

The dollar advanced against a basket of currencies; the dollar index traded at 94.729 as of 9:40 a.m. HK/SIN, compared with levels around 93.565 on Thursday and near 94.181 on Friday afternoon Asia time.

US markets closed lower Friday, with the Dow Jones industrial average down 119.85 points, or 0.67 percent, at 17,865.34. The S&P 500 was off by 19.41 points, or 0.92 percent, at 2,096.07, and the Nasdaq composite lost 64.07 points, or 1.29 percent, at 4,894.55.

The Federal Open Market Committee will begin a two-day policy meeting on June 14, with many market watchers not expecting a rate hike after a sharply lower-than-expected US jobs report cast fresh doubts over the economy's health.

However, the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the week ended June 4 unexpectedly fell, according to the Labor Department.

Markets in Australia are closed for the Queen's Birthday public holiday.

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First Published:Jun 13, 2016 7:48 AM IST