Asian share markets were mostly softer on Monday ahead of a slew of Chinese economic news, while political uncertainty in Europe soured risk appetites and kept the euro on the defensive. Analysts expect annual growth in China's retail sales picked up to 3.0% in May, from 2.3%, with some upside risk thanks to holidays that month. There was also talk the People's Bank of China (PBOC) could cut a key lending rate by 10 basis points, in part due to surprisingly weak bank lending data released on Friday.
Gretchen Walsh swam the two fastest times in history in the 100M butterfly to qualify for her first Olympics.
Japan's core machinery orders fell in April for the first time in three months, Cabinet Office data showed on Monday, casting some doubt about the strength of capital spending, which is key to a durable economic recovery. The data followed the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) decision last week to start trimming its huge bond purchases, with it due to announce a detailed plan next month on reducing its nearly $5 trillion balance sheet. Core orders fell 2.9% month-on-month in April, versus a 3.1% decline expected by economists in a Reuters poll, the first drop in three months.