TOKYO (Reuters) - The dollar languished near 2-1/2-week lows against major peers on Monday as a decline in Treasury yields restrained the U.S. currency.

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Asian shares faltered on Monday as investors wait to see if U.S. earnings can justify sky-high valuations, while bond markets could be tested by what should be very strong readings for U.S. inflation and retail sales this week.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was off 0.6% in slow trade. Tokyo’s Nikkei edged down 0.5%, while South Korean stocks were near flat.

Chinese blue chips eased 0.9% ahead of a rush of economic figures from the country.

Investors were anxious to see how shares in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd fared after China slapped a record 18 billion yuan ($2.75 billion) fine on the e-commerce giant.

Reverberations could be felt beyond China as over a third of the stock is held by U.S. investors, and given the stock makes up more than 8% of the MSCI EM index.

Some felt the decision was already in the share price.

“Ever since the Ant IPO was cancelled and with the antitrust laws in the pipeline, the market has expected that Alibaba would pay a price,” said Louis Tse, managing director at Wealthy Securities in Hong Kong.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Auto sales in China surged in March for their 12th consecutive month of gains, as the world’s biggest car market leads the sector’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

(Reuters) -Global stocks held firm near record highs on Friday as receding inflation fears in the United States pushed down bond yields and lifted Wall Street, though softness in Chinese shares capped gains in Asia.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The dollar advanced slightly on Friday but was headed for its softest week of the year as strong data in Europe, surprisingly weak U.S. jobs figures and a determinedly accommodative Federal Reserve have prompted investors to trim bets on the greenback.

BEIJING (Reuters) -China’s factory gate prices beat analyst expectations to rise at their fastest annual pace since July 2018 in March in the latest sign that a recovery in the world’s second-largest economy is gathering momentum.