Shanghai stocks were the stand-out performers in Asian trade Monday after another round of weak Chinese data fuelled hopes for fresh stimulus, while the dollar sat around 13-year highs following a forecast-busting US jobs report.
Shanghai added 2.05 percent in late trade while Hong Kong was up 0.58 percent.
Tokyo pared earlier losses to end marginally lower, dipping 3.71 points to 20,457.19, while Seoul closed 0.14 percent down, giving up 2.91 points to 2,065.19.
Sydney was closed for a public holiday.
Official data Monday showed Chinese imports slumped 17.6 percent in May, a seventh straight fall, and much sharper than the median forecast of 10 percent by a Bloomberg News poll of economists. Imports had fallen 16.2 percent in April. Meanwhile exports dropped for the third successive month, slipping 2.5 percent.
The figures are the latest to highlight the Asian economic giant struggling to get back up to speed after growth was recorded at its slowest since 1990 last year.
However, traders took the data as an opportunity to continue buying equities on expectations Beijing will add to its three rate cuts since November as well as other easing measures.
"The economy hasn`t yet bottomed out," said Song Qiuhong, an analyst at Shunde Rural Commercial Bank Co. in Guangdong province`s Foshan city. "The central bank has the incentive to keep rates low."
Elsewhere strong US jobs figures increased the chances of a US interest rate hike before the end of the year, which hit Wall Street, and also overshadowed an upward revision of Japanese economic growth.
The US Labor Department said Friday the world`s biggest economy and key driver of global growth created 280,000 jobs in May.
The figure was far better than forecast and follows a slow start to the year that saw a first-quarter economic contraction partly because of severe winter weather. The report also showed better wage growth, in an indication of tightening in the jobs market.
However, while the news suggests the recovery is back on track, it also gives the Fed more ammunition to start raising rates again, weighing on US equities.
The Dow shed 0.31 percent and the S&P 500 dropped 0.14 percent while the Nasdaq added 0.18 percent.
The dollar also surged, hitting 125.86 yen at one point, its highest level since June 2002, before easing slightly.
In Tokyo on Monday the greenback was at 125.52 yen.
"Investors have to be prepared for a US rate hike this year given that the US economy has been doing pretty well," Khiem Do, head of multi-asset strategy at Baring Asset Management Ltd, told Bloomberg News.
"There are a number of uncertainties out there, especially since equities have performed very well this year."
The yen won a measure of support from figures showing Japan`s economy grew 1.0 percent in the first quarter, up from an initial estimate of a 0.6 percent expansion. The news suggested the Bank of Japan (BoJ) would wait to unveil further monetary stimulus, which would tend to weaken the yen.
The euro slipped to $1.1097 and 139.29 yen on Monday from $1.1115 and 139.56 yen in US trade on concerns about Greece`s debt reform talks as Athens and its creditors bicker over the latest demands from Brussels.
European Commission President Juncker, at a Group of Seven summit in Germany, accused Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of failing to respect "minimal rules" in their negotiations and of failing to deliver a promised list of alternative reforms.
Greece has until the end of the month to agree a deal that will unlock billions of euros in bailout cash it badly needs to repay its debts, and there are fears that a default could see the country tumble out of the eurozone.
Oil prices were lower. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for July delivery fell 46 cents to $58.67 while Brent crude for July eased 43 cents to $62.88.
Gold fetched $1,172.83 compared with $1,174.44 late Friday.
In other markets:
-- Taipei rose 0.30 percent, or 28.30 points, to 9,368.43.
Hon Hai Precision Industry was up 0.64 percent at Tw$94.9 while smartphone maker HTC fell by its a daily limit of 10 percent to Tw$83.6 after forecasting its biggest ever quarterly loss.
-- Wellington added 0.31 percent, or 17.91 points, to 5,885.81.
Air New Zealand was up 2.14 percent at NZ$2.86 and Fletcher Building gained 0.71 percent to close at NZ$8.50.
