TOKYO Asia shares were mixed with holidays in the Asia-Pacific region likely to result in thin trading.
On the first trading day of the quarter, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.43 percent, on course to decline for a fourth straight session.
In Australia, where the S&P ASX 200 index fell 0.15 percent, the S&P ASX 200 index fell 0.15 percent.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index was up 0.72 percent after upbeat quarterly earnings from Mimasu Semiconductor boosted chip shares.
South Korea has a national holiday on Monday, while Hong Kong has a holiday on Tuesday.
Robert Carnell, regional head of research at ING, said that trading is likely to be thin given the holidays.
The dollar was trading flat against the yen at 144.75 after hitting a high of 144.89 overnight. Japan's finance minister Shunichi Suzuki said this morning that the government would take decisive steps to prevent currency moves.
The September data for the USISM Manufacturing Index will be released later in the day.
ISM manufacturing is unlikely to hurt the optimism around the US economy that has been building up further with positive economic indicators released over the last few weeks, Saxo Bank market strategist Redmond Wong wrote in a research note.
The Reserve Bank of Australia will hold a meeting on Tuesday, with markets expecting another 50 basis point rate hike, as well as the release of CPI inflation data from Japan.
Spot gold was up 0.47 percent to $1,667. An ounce is 2208 an ounce.