06:50 AM EDT, 06/17/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets ended mostly lower Monday on concerns regarding changes in European government, and mediocre monthly economic reports from Beijing.

Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Tokyo finished in the red, as did most other regional exchanges.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened solidly lower on Wall Street and European cues and could not recover, finishing off 1.8%.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 712.12 to 38,102.44 as losing issues outnumbered gainers 199 to 25.

Leading the slender upside was electronic components maker Taiyo Yuden, up 3%, while cybersecurity house Trend Micro lost 6.1%.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index finished flat as traders gauged May economic releases from Beijing pointing to moderate retail sales and industrial production. Property issues were weak.

The broad gauge Hang Seng fell 5.66 to 17,936.12, although losing issues outnumbered gainers 53 to 26. The Hang Seng TECH Index was unchanged on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index fell 2%.

Leading the upside was automaker BYD, gaining 6.3%, while natural gas supplier ENN Energy lost 3.5%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.6% to 3,015.89.

In economic news, China retail sales rose 3.7% year-on-year in May while industrial production rose 5.6% on the year in the same period, reported the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Fixed asset investment rose a modest 4% in May.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI fell 0.5%; the Taiwan TWSE was flat; the Australian ASX 200 declined 0.3%; the Singapore Straits Times Index was closed, and the Thai Set declined 0.8%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was up 0.2%.