Asia: Shares fall despite Chinese central bank stimulus

Asian stocks started the week in the red after China's central bank cut its bank reserve requirement ratio (RRR).

Over the weekend, the People's Bank of China lowered its reserve requirement ratio for the country´s lenders by one percentage point to 18.5%, the most aggressive cut since 2008.

However, the measure failed to push Asian stocks higher as the Shanghai composite index fell 1.64% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 2.02%.

“Sunday's cut to the RRR for China's banks signals a stepping-up of policy support,” said Mark Williams, chief Asia economist at Capital Economics.

"We suspect [recent weak economic data] was partly the result of lingering disruptions from the Chinese New Year. But the downside risks to growth appear greater now than they did a month or two ago," he continued.

The Nikkei 225 was also slightly lower, finishing the session down by 0.09%. Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Sunday the bank is making progress with its plan to raise inflation. He said the bank's policies are having their “intended effects and the economy is making steady progress in conquering low inflation".

In economic news, Japan´s tertiary industry index rose by 0.3% month-on-month in February after rising by 1.4% in the previous month.

Australia's ASX also fell 0.76% driven by concerns over the slump in iron ore prices.

Brent crude was up 0.42% to $63.72 per barrel while West Texas Intermediate grew 0.83% to $56.21, ICE data revealed.

Australian mining group BHP Billiton was down 0.5% while Rio Tinto lost 0.78%. Meanwhile, oil and gas company Santos fell 0.25%.

Elsewhere in Japan, shares in Honda Motor fell 1.19%.