GLE Societe Generale SA

Asian shares were broadly lower Monday, following declines in U.S. stocks on Friday and amid nervousness about the state of global oil markets. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries gathers for an informal meeting this week in Algiers, with production cuts likely up for discussion.

"Over the past 12 months oil prices have exhibited a strong effect and correlation on stock prices," said Angus Nicholson, market analyst at IG.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.2% and Japan's Nikkei slid 0.8%. New Zealand shares were down in early trade and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was off 1%. Korea's Kospi slipped 0.2%.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both fell 0.6% on Friday, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.7%. The drops were largely a reaction to oil weakness.

This week's OPEC meeting may be supportive for oil prices—Brent crude is up about 1% in early Asian trade, according to FutureSource—but the run-up will certainly induce volatility.

"Oil markets have in recent weeks gyrated to 'speak' ahead of the informal OPEC meeting," Socié té Gé né rale said in a report.

The organization may agree to production cuts, but OPEC members and Russia have substantial issues to work out before making a deal to limit oil production, even though progress is expected, energy ministers said.

The Japanese market continues to digest last week's monetary policy news from Japan and the U.S. Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda is scheduled to speak later Monday and is set to make the case for the central bank's decision to target an interest rate of zero for 10-year government bonds.

Looking ahead, analysts will also be focusing on the U.S. presidential debate scheduled for late Monday in the U.S.

"Markets haven't fully priced in the likelihood of a Trump presidency," said Mr. Nicholson. There is open debate and uncertainty within the analyst community about Donald Trump's policies, Mr. Nicholson said.

Kenan Machado and Kosaku Narioka contributed to this article.

Write to Willa Plank at willa.plank@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 25, 2016 23:25 ET (03:25 GMT)

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