Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Monday as China's central bank held rates at a time when the yuan has come under pressure due to Beijing-Washington trade tensions.
Mainland China's CSI 300 rose 0.33% in its last hour of trade to end the day at 3,784.88, after the People's Bank of China kept its key loan prime rates unchanged at 3.10% for 1-year loan maturities and 3.60% for 5-year loan maturities, in line with the expectations of economists polled by Reuters.
India's benchmark Nifty 50 advanced 1.32% while the broader BSE Sensex added 1.35% as of 1.25 p.m. Indian Standard time.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 ended the day 1.30% lower at 34,279.92, while the broader Topix index declined 1.18% to 2,528.93.
In South Korea, the Kospi index moved up 0.2% in choppy trade to close at 2,488.42 while the small-cap Kosdaq fell 0.32% to 715.45.
Australian and Hong Kong markets were closed for the Easter holiday.
Investors are focused on U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policies, as they continue to roil global markets.
Last week, Trump called for the U.S. Federal Reserve to cut interest rates while adding that the termination of Fed Chair Jerome Powell "cannot come fast enough." Trump's comments came after Powell cautioned that ongoing trade tensions could challenge the central bank's goals of controlling inflation and spurring growth.
U.S. futures fell after all three major benchmarks logged their third weekly decline, in the last four trading weeks.
The broad-based S&P 500 ended Thursday's session higher, but still finished the holiday-shortened week 1.5% lower.
Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite posted their third consecutive losing session, each declining over 2% in the four-day trading week.
— CNBC's Sean Conlon contributed to this report.
