SYDNEY, NSW, Australia - Stocks in Asia were mostly lower on Monday.

The U.S. dollar, meantime, staged a modest recovery after relentless selling last week.

The Australian All Ordinaries slumped 19.60 points or 0.27 percent to 7,335.10.

South Korea's Kospi Composite dived 29.49 points or 1.21 percent to 2,414.99.

China's Shanghai Composite retreated 12.30 points or 0.39 percent to 3,085.04.

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong shed 336.63 points or 1.87 percent to 17,655.91.

Going against the trend in New Zealand, the S&P/NZX 50 advanced 59.79 points or 0.53 percent to 11,040.40. "Many borrowers have yet to feel the impact of higher interest rates. That will change a great deal over the next six to twelve months as they come due for refixing," Westpac's Acting Chief Economist in New Zealand, Michael Gordon, said Monday. "Consequently, we expect to see a softening in consumer spending and the demand for workers over the next year or so, with growth effectively stalling by 2024," he added.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 also gained ground, adding 45.02 points or 0.16 percent t to 27,944.79.

On foreign exchange markets, the euro dropped to 1.0279 by the Sydney close Monday. The British pound was sold off to 1.1827. The Japanese yen fell to 140.67. The Swiss franc was unwanted at 0.9559.

The Canadian dollar weakened to 1.3415. The Australian dollar crumbled to 0.6645. The New Zealand dollar eased to 0.6126.