Shares were mostly lower in Asia on Monday following a report that the U.S. is preparing to slap sanctions on a dozen more Chinese officials, ratcheting up tensions with Beijing.
Benchmarks dropped in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai but rose in Sydney. Investors also are locking in recent gains after markets surged with signs of progress toward rolling out coronavirus vaccines in many countries.
Stocks hit record highs on Wall Street on Friday as traders took a discouraging jobs report as a sign that Congress may finally move on delivering more aid for the pandemic-stricken economy.