RIO Rio Tinto Plc

Shares in Japan led Asian markets lower Monday, amid worries that the central bank will be reluctant to expand its easing program in the coming year.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 1.6%, adding to its 1.9% decline on Friday when the Bank of Japan announced tweaks to its current bond buying program. Analysts said the measures didn't amount to a clear expansion of the program, and the central bank said the steps were an adjustment rather than an extension.

The Nikkei is on track to fall 5% this month, the second-worst performing stock benchmark in the region after Thailand's SET, which is down 5.5%.

Elsewhere, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.5% and South Korea's Kospi fell 0.3%.

Early Monday, shares of Toshiba Corp. also plunged 8.7% after the firm said it is likely to post a net loss of roughly ¥ 500 billion ($4.1 billion) in the current fiscal year, owing to heavy restructuring costs after an accounting scandal. Toshiba is set to disclose plans to restructure money-losing businesses later Monday. The Wall Street Journal earlier reported the loss citing a person familiar with the matter.

A Toshiba spokesman, responding to reports about the projected loss in Japanese media, said the number wasn't something announced by the company and declined to comment further.

Weakness from Friday extended in early trading, as optimism around the Fed's decision Wednesday to raise interest rates for the first time in almost a decade faded. Global markets initially rose, as many interpreted the move as a signal of strength in the U.S. economy. Those gains have since dissipated, as concerns about a climbing U.S. dollar and pressure on oil prices return to the forefront.

"Shares should see their normal Santa Claus rally into year-end," given that the first interest rate increase by the Fed is out of the way, wrote Shane Oliver, investment strategist at AMP Capital in a note. "But as we have seen in the last few days it's likely to be a bumpy ride."

On Friday, the Bank of Japan enhanced its quantitative easing program by saying it would buy longer dated bonds and expand an ETF purchases program by ¥ 300 billion yen a year. Analysts said the moves were trivial compared with the size of its current easing measures.

Mr. Oliver added that the Bank of Japan move "may have backfired to the extent that it added to investor fears that the BOJ is not really prepared to do more."

U.S. shares dropped sharply on Friday, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its lowest close since October.

In Australia, materials and financial shares fell 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively, on Monday. Energy shares were up 0.2%.

Woodside Petroleum Ltd. is up 0.5%, but Oil Search Ltd. is down 0.5%. BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Ltd. are down 0.4% and 0.8%, respectively.

The Japanese yen was down 0.1% at ¥ 121.29 per U.S. dollar. The local currency had risen as much as 1% against the U.S. dollar late Friday, after the Bank of Japan's moves.

Ahead of the open in China and Hong Kong, Hong Kong-listed Fosun Holdings Ltd., the flagship of Chinese conglomerate Fosun Group, said it had withdrawn its bid for London merchant bank BHF Kleinwort Benson. The parent company, whose chairman Guo Guangchang had disappeared for several days two weeks ago, has many public listings in Hong Kong and the mainland. The news had sent shares of Fosun down more than 10% in recent days.

The company has said Mr. Guo was assisting in government investigations unrelated to the company, and the chairman had since reappeared at a company event last Monday.

Brent crude oil was last down 1.1% at $36.45 a barrel.

Gold prices edged up 0.1% to $1,065.90 a troy ounce.

Takashi Mochizuki and Peter Landers contributed to this article.

Write to Chao Deng at Chao.Deng@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 20, 2015 20:55 ET (01:55 GMT)

Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024

Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024