the Effect of U.S. Economic Reports

Most Asian indexes were stuck near break-even Monday, as investors remained cautious after a string of weak finishes recently and ahead of key economic data from the U.S. later in the week.

Energy-related stocks ranked among gainers on high-crude-oil prices, but airline and refining shares extended losses.

"Market sentiment is still pretty weak. The Shanghai market is on the edge, and whether the A shares manage a rebound is a big question," said Castor Pang, strategist at Sun Hung Kai Financial in Hong Kong.

Pang added U.S. economic data due this week, including monthly employment, auto sales and factor-order reports were likely to attract investor attention. He said expectations that corporate profits in the financial sector could drop further "on continued write-offs related to subprime" mortgages added to the pessimism.

In Asia, the Bank of Japan is due to release the results of its quarterly tankan business-confidence survey on Tuesday, when the Reserve Bank of Australia will also announce its decision on interest rates.

Concerns about slowing growth in corporate earnings also contributed to weak sentiment.

In a note to clients, Citigroup analysts wrote that stock valuations in Asia, excluding Japan, are above their historical average in terms of price-to-book value ratios, although the growth in corporate earnings-per-share is below average.

"Poor terms of trade and a global economic slowing will push earnings-per- share growth into negative territory by year-end," they wrote.

China's Shanghai Composite fell 0.9% to 2,722.91 by late morning, after rising as high as 2,766.80 earlier in the day. In Shenzhen, the All Share index lost 1% to 787.80.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index, which fell during six of the previous seven sessions in Hong Kong, recently slipped 0.2% to 22,007.56, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index rose 0.2% to 11,838.17.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Average rose 0.3% to 13,589.40, after declining for seven straight sessions, while the broader Topix index rose 0.3% to 13,589.40.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 inched up 0.1% to 5,242.20, giving a large part of its gains after touching 5,305.90 earlier in the day.

Elsewhere, South Korea's Kospi fell 0.2% to 1,681.97 and Singapore's Straits Times Index rose 0.2% to 2,962.60, while Taiwan's Weighted index rose 0.1% to 7, 552.89.

Regional detail

Energy-related stocks were buoyant, as crude-oil prices stayed above $140 a barrel.

Shares of Inpex Holdings rose 4.7% and energy trader Mitsubishi Corp. added 3.8% in Tokyo. BHP Billiton (BHP) climbed 1.7% in Sydney and Cnooc (CEO) jumped 2.6% in Hong Kong.

The August contract for crude-oil futures climbed as much as $1.34 to $141.55 a barrel in electronic trading, after adding 57 cents to $140.21 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Friday. The front-month contract had touched a record high of $142.99 a barrel in electronic trading on Friday.

In Hong Kong, shares of refiner China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (SNP) fell 2.2% and Air China gave up 1.5% on worries rising oil prices would hurt profits.

Shares of Babcock & Brown soared 12% in Sydney, after the company said on Monday that its lenders have waived a right to review the company's debt and removed a market capitalization clause linked to the review. The recovery came after steep losses in the asset management company's stock price recently on fears that lenders could review the debt after its market capitalization fell below A$2.5 billion ($2.35 billion).

But some of the region's exporters and financial stocks declined after a drop on Wall Street. Shares of Commonwealth Bank of Australia lost 1.2% and Westpac Banking Corp. shed 3% in Sydney, while HSBC Holdings (HBC) lost 1% in Hong Kong.

Among exporters, Samsung Electronics fell 1.7% in Seoul, while Sony Corp. ( SNE) gave up 1.9% in Tokyo.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar bought 106.18 yen in Asia, compared with 106.17 yen in New York late Friday.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 106 points to 11, 346 and the Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) dipped 5.7 points to 2,315, while the S&P 500 index (SPX) fell 4.8 points to 1,278.