Markets were mixed in Asia on Monday, with Japan's benchmark slipping 0.8% after the government reported the economy contracted 6.3% in annual terms in the last quarter, AP reported. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo was at 23,507.63 by late morning, while Sydney's S&P ASX/200 edged 1% lower to 7,120.00. South Korea's Kospi was flat, at 2,242.50, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong climbed 0.5% to 27,953.73. The Shanghai Composite index jumped 1.3% to 2,955.07 after the central bank and finance minister announced a slew of measures to support the economy. Shares were flat in Jakarta. Benchmark U.S. crude oil fell 5 cents to $52.00 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It closed 1.2% higher on Friday, notching its first weekly gain in six weeks. Brent crude oil, the international standard, lost 15 cents to $57.17 a barrel. In other commodities trading, gold lost 70 cents to $1,585.70 per ounce, silver rose 10 cents to $17.83 per ounce and copper fell 1 cent to $2.61 per pound. The dollar rose to 109.81 Japanese yen from 109.77 yen on Friday. The euro weakened to $1.0833 from $1.0839.
