Asia: Stocks down amid Greece uncertainty

Asian stocks started the week in the red as concerns about the future of Greece's economy weighed heavily on investor sentiment, after talks between Athens and its creditors broke down over the weekend.

Craig Erlam from Ocanda said: "It should be a very interesting week in the financial markets as Greece continues to try and negotiate a palatable bailout with its creditors, while in the US the Fed will announce its latest monetary policy decision along with its latest economic projections."

The Shanghai composite index lost 2%, falling from a seven-year high. The decline follows news that the country's regulators had published new rules on margin financing. Securities regulators plan to cap the companies at four times a brokerage's net capital.

Still in China, around 25 firms are planning to launch initial public offering (IPO) this week. Bank of Jiangsu said it plans to launch its IPO, which is expected to raise ¥40bn.

As a result, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.53%.

Luxury fashion retailer Prada lost 4.9% in Hong Kong after reporting a 44% decline China consumption.

Nomura analysts said: "In our view, HK/Macau will remain challenged for at least six months, while the expansion of the cost base, particularly for the Prada brand in recent years, will see ongoing deleverage."

Still in company news, Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba announced it plans to launch a movie streaming service similar to Netflix or HBO in the US.

Japan's Nikkei 225 was slightly down by 0.09% despite a weaker yen at ¥123.56 against the dollar.

Meanwhile in Australia, the ASX index closed down 0.12%.