TOKYO — Asian shares were mostly lower Monday as investors cautiously eyed the summit of European leaders discussing the pandemic crisis and coronavirus cases continued to soar in the U.S.Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 0.4% in early trading to 22,616.23. South Korea's Kospi dipped 0.5% to 2,190.45, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell nearly 0.7% to 5,993.40. Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged 0.1% higher to 25,101.57, while the Shanghai Composite gained 2.6% to 3,298.50. European Union leaders were headed to a fourth day of talks without reaching an agreement on an unprecedented 1.85 trillion-euro ($2.1 trillion) EU budget and coronavirus recovery fund to tackle the crisis. Japan's trade-reliant economy has plunged into recession and its outbreaks of COVID-19 cases, while still fewer than the hardest hit nations, have been growing recently, especially in Tokyo.

Source: International New York Times July 20, 2020 03:45 UTC