Mumbai : Asian shares ended mostly lower today as Greece’s inability to form a government fuelled worries over euro stability. So, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.2%; China’s Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.6%; Singapore’s Strait Times index dropped 0.7% and South Korea’s Kospi index shed 0.2%. But Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.2%.

In banking news, China has cut the amount of cash that banks must set aside as reserves for the third time in six months, pumping money into the financial system to support lending. Reserve ratios will fall 50 basis points, effective May 18, the People’s Bank of China said over the weekend.

European stocks declined sharply today as the Greece political crisis showed no signs of abating over the weekend. So, key indices, London’s FTSE-100, France’s CAC-40 and Germany’s DAX slumped between 1.7 percent and 2.4 percent in intra-day trade today.

Greek anti-bailout party Syriza said over the weekend it would not take part in a coalition government to help put in place austerity measures. If President Karolos Papoulias can’t put a coalition together by Thursday, new elections will be held in June 2012, and concerns are building Greece could exit the euro zone.