Asia shares start week on the back foot, dollar nurses losses

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was a few ticks lower, after Wall Street ended with modest gains on Friday even as the S&P 500 still suffered its biggest weekly decline in two months. Japan's Nikkei stock index skidded 1.2 percent in early trading. Data released early on Monday showed Japan's core machinery orders fell 9.2 percent in February from the previous month, in a sign that business investment remains subdued.