Stocks in Asia were likely heading for a cautious start Monday after the best week since mid-December, with investors continuing to monitor the rising coronavirus death toll. Currencies were largely steady in early trading. The S&P 500 Index fell along with Treasury yields on Friday, when futures on equities in Hong Kong and Japan declined. Australian contracts were flat. Investors are taking stock of a large rally that last week propelled global stocks back to all-time highs.

Frasers Property on Monday announced that Frasers Property Retail has entered into an agreement to acquire property manager AsiaMalls Management for an undisclosed sum.

Micro-Mechanics (Holdings) Ltd, which makes high-precision tools and parts used in process-critical applications for the semiconductor industry, has posted a 14.4 per cent increase in group net profit to S$3.6 million for the second quarter ended Dec 31, 2019.

Tokyo stocks opened lower on Monday as investors continued to lock in profits while keeping a close watch on new infections from the novel coronavirus. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 0.77 per cent or 182.89 to 23,645.09 in early trade while the broader Topix index was 0.81 per cent or 13.95 points lower at 1,718.19.

The number of deaths from China's new coronavirus epidemic jumped to 902 nationwide on Monday after hard-hit Hubei province reported 91 new fatalities. In its daily update, Hubei's health commission also confirmed another 2,618 new cases in the central province, where the outbreak emerged in December.

Amazon.com Inc has pulled out of this month's Mobile World Congress because of the coronavirus outbreak, in another blow to one of the telecom industry's biggest gatherings which attracts over 100,000 visitors to Barcelona.

Source: SGX Masnet, The Business Times, Bloomberg, Channel NewsAsia, Reuters, PSR