HONG KONG - Markets in Asia were mostly lower Monday on continued fears that a global economic recovery may take longer than expected, while investors lacked direction from the United States.

There were also concerns about the upcoming second quarter earnings season, which begins in the US this week, with many traders remaining cautious.

Tokyo fell 1.38 per cent, Sydney shed 1.16 per cent and Hong Kong lost 1.23 per cent, while Singapore slipped 1.46 per cent.

Mumbai dived almost six per cent after a budget that warned of a ballooning fiscal deficit.

Players struggled with a lack of leads as Wall Street was closed Friday for a public holiday to mark Independence Day.

Grim US jobs data late last week led dealers to question recent confidence in a world recovery, pulling most markets down.

Bangkok was closed for a public holiday.