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Asian stocks plunge on China, Japan data; China shares at 5-year low

Asian shares were a lackluster sight on Monday, with major indexes across the region registering steep declines. Chinese shares in particular suffered a hefty loss of nearly 3 percent.

Investors switched to 'risk-off' mode following disappointing Chinese export data over the weekend. The latest Japanese gross domestic product (GDP) figures further dented trading sentiment across the region.

Commenting on Monday's sluggish tone in Asian equities, Kingsley Jones, Founder and CIO of Jevons Global, told CNBC's Cash Flow, "I think a lot of that (weakness) has to do with the Chinese data released over the weekend. Those weak export numbers got investors a little risk off now. Not forgetting, in the background, there's the brewing situation in Ukraine."

(Read more: China February exports tumble amid global uncertainty)

Focus was also on the continued search for a missing Malaysia Airlines flight, which entered its third day on Monday.

China's exports tumbled 18.1 percent while imports rose 10.1 percent from a year earlier, producing a trade deficit of $23 billion for the month of February, data released on Saturday showed.

That compared with market expectations in a Reuters poll of a rise of 6.8 percent in exports, an 8 percent rise in imports and a trade surplus of $14.5 billion.

Wall Street finished mixed at the end of last week. The blue-chip Dow rose 0.2 percent on Friday, while the S&P 500 crept up nearly 0.1 percent, after climbing to an intraday record of 1,883.57. The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 0.4 percent.

Friday's closely-watched U.S. nonfarm payrolls report beat expectations to show the U.S. economy adding 175,000 jobs in February, compared with 113,000 in January. Economists had expected the addition of 150,000 new jobs.

(Read more: Heating up: Job creation accelerates in February)

Shanghai tanks 2.9%

Mainland shares plunged below the 2,000 level for the first time since 21 January, on Monday as investors bailed out of markets after below-view trade data suggested that the economy may be losing steam. Meanwhile, China's CSI300 share index sank to a five-year closing low on Monday.

Banking stocks were among the biggest losers; Minsheng Bank and Hua Xia Bank plunged over 3.5 percent while Merchants Bank slumped 2 percent.

Gold stocks continued to trade weak; Shandong Gold slumped 7 percent while Zhongjin Gold lost 4.4 percent.

Jiangxi Copper fell 5.8 percent as copper prices took a hit.

(Read more: IBM factory strike shows shifting China labor landscape)

Sinopec could be widely watched by investors as the oil refiner was reported to be in the process of opening up its fuel marketing business to outside investors. Shares of Sinopec dropped 4.2 percent.

Tokyo skids 1%

Japanese shares retreated from a five-week high on Monday to finish 1 percent lower, snapping a three-session winning streak.

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