Asian stocks fall amid Iran-Israel tensions, China rebounds on govt support

Equity benchmarks in Japan, South Korea and Australia all sank while Hong Kong stock futures also fell.

Contracts for US shares edged higher in Asia after the S&P 500 suffered its worst session since January on Friday, while Japan's Nikkei 225 was among the worst performers for the day, losing 1.2 percent as investors continued to lock-in profits near recent record highs.

South Korea’s KOSPI sank 0.8 percent as trade data for March showed a limited increase in exports, while imports shrank.

Australia’s ASX 200 lost 0.5 percent, even as a surge in metal prices boosted some mining stocks, while futures for India’s Nifty 50 index pointed to a negative open after the index tumbled from record highs on Friday (Apr 12).

Meanwhile, Chinese stocks rebound on government support. The country's Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes both surged 1.8 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively, as they rebounded from 1-½  month lows hit last week.

According to local media reports, the Chinese government vowed more support for local capital markets.

However, stocks in Hong Kong still reflected negative sentiment towards China as the Hang Seng sank 0.7 percent on Monday, weighed by losses in mainland stocks.