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Shanghai Falls; Nikkei Ends Flat

The Nikkei gave up the day's gains while mainland Chinese stocks ended sharply lower Monday even as several Asian markets remained closed for the Easter break.

The Nikkei closed flat. The Shanghai Composite fell 1.5%. The Sensex gained 0.6%. Hong Kong and Australia are due to resume trading Tuesday.

Earlier Monday, data showed Japan's trade deficit swelled more-than-expected to a record 13.75 trillion yen in the last financial year to March, according to the country's finance ministry, marking the third straight year of deficit.

HSBC's preliminary survey report of Chinese manufacturing is due Wednesday.

Crude was at $104 a barrel as investors worried about potential disruptions from the ongoing fighting in Ukraine which claimed more lives on Easter Sunday.

Stocks on the Move

Shipping companies sank in Tokyo following rising diplomatic sparring between Japan and China after a vessel belonging to Japanese shipping major Mitsui O.S.K. Lines was seized by the Shanghai Maritime Court over the weekend over contract disputes dating back to the Sino-Japanese war in the 1930s.

Japanese top spokesperson said earlier today the seizure could hurt bilateral ties.

Mitsui O.S.K. shares fell 1.1%. Kawasaki Kaisen ended flat while Nippon Yusen was down 0.3%.

Consumer-oriented lenders were up after a report the government is contemplating loosening rules for money lenders to make it easier to lend to smaller businesses ignored by banks. Orient Corp. and Aplus Financial both surged 12.8% each, respectively.

In auto names, Mazda ended 0.9% higher while Toyota and Honda both edged up 0.1% and 0.3% each, respectively. Nissan declined 0.2%.

Great Wall Motor was a big loser in Shanghai, down 4.6%.

Jiangxi Copper melted 2.8% while Aluminum Corporation of China fell 2.7%.

Energy stocks bucked the trend as Premier Li Keqiang announced the impending launch of major power projects with a focus on energy transmission and clean energy like hydro power.

In Mumbai, SSLT was the top Sensex gainer, up 4.8%, followed by L&T, up 4%.

M&M gained 3.5% while BHEL and Sirtel were up 3.1% and 3% each, respectively.

SBI and Axis Bank were up 2.6% each while Maruti Suzuki closed up 2.2%.

Coal India, ICICI Bank, Hindalco, Hero MotoCorp, NTPC, and Tata Steel all ended higher in a range between 1.1% and 1.8%.

In Bangalore, Wipro, India's third largest software exporter warned of a weak performance in the current quarter. However, it also said this would not impact the company's overall performance for the year. Shares ignored the reassurances, dropping 6.7% at market close.