Asia: Stocks gain as Ukraine makes headway against rebels
Asian stocks were mostly higher as geopolitical tensions cooled in Iraq and Ukraine.
Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.03% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng finished flat and the Shanghai index increased 0.57%.
The US has widened air strikes and used bombers in Iraq for the first time since the offensive began on 8 August to help secure the dam near Mosul that had been taken over by Kurdish forces.
Meanwhile, Kiev said on Sunday that Ukrainian forces raised their national flag over a police station in the city of Luhansk where rebels had taken over for months.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov made progress in talks in Berlin, according to German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
The news offset a report which showed China's new home prices fell in July, dragged down by tight mortgage lending. Prices declined in 64 of the 70 cities last month from June, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday.
Nintendo rallies
Nintendo gained in Tokyo after Mario Kart 8 surpassed 1m units in sales in the US.
Chugai Pharmaceutical advanced on a report that Roche Holding AG is in talks to buy remaining shares in the Japanese drugmaker.
National Australia declined after the lender said it will set aside more than £245m for compensation related to UK insurance and hedging products.
RD