Stock market today: Asian stocks mostly fall as Chinese shares falter despite measures to support the market

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Asian stocks were mostly lower on Monday, with Chinese stocks again leading the declines, even after the market regulator in Beijing vowed to crack down on abuses and protect retail investors.

The main index in the smaller Shenzhen market fell 5.4% and the Shanghai Composite Index slipped more than 2% before recovering some lost ground.

US futures fell and oil prices rose.

On Sunday, China's securities regulator said it would double enforcement measures against crimes such as market manipulation and malicious short selling, while launching more medium- and long-term funds.

The move appeared to do little to reassure investors who have been withdrawing money from markets for months. Last week, Chinese stocks posted their worst week in five years.

The Shenzhen A-share index suffered the brunt of the selling, falling 5.4%. The Shanghai Composite was down 0.8% at 2,707.87 in volatile trading.

In another blow to market sentiment, a report said China's services sector grew slightly slower in January and its purchasing managers' index fell to 52.7 from 52.9 in December, according to a private sector survey on Monday. A PMI above 50 indicates expansion compared to the previous month.

Elsewhere in Asia, the Nikkei 225 index rose 0.6% to 36,390.31 in Tokyo.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 1% to 7,623.30. South Korea's Kospi fell 0.6% to 2,599.62.

Shares of major technology companies led Wall Street to record levels again on Friday, even as the majority of stocks fell on renewed worries about the risks of a hot economy.

Big gains for Meta Platforms and Amazon helped the S&P 500 index rise 1.1% to close at 4,958.61. It's a hot rise, having seen a rise in 13 of the last 14 weeks. Big Tech stocks, which are among the most influential Wall Street stocks, also added 1.7% to the Nasdaq composite.

But the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which relies less on technology, rose a more modest 0.3% to 38,654.42. And the Nasdaq rose 1.7% to 15,628.95.

Stocks came under pressure from sharply higher bond market yields after a report showed that U.S. employers hired far more workers last month than economists had expected.

That's good for workers and helps keep the risk of a recession at bay, but could keep some upward pressure on inflation and cause the Federal Reserve to wait longer before starting to cut interest rates.

Hopes of such cuts, which could ease pressure on the economy and boost investment prices, were a key reason the U.S. stock market hit record highs. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said earlier this week that rate cuts were unlikely to begin as quickly as traders had hoped.

The jobs report landed amid a maelstrom of earnings reports on Wall Street.

Meta Platforms, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, rose 20.3% after the company reported higher-than-expected profits for its latest quarter and said it would pay a dividend to its investors.

Amazon rose 7.9% after the company reported higher-than-expected profits and sales for its latest quarter.

They are both members of a small group of Big Tech stocks known as the “Magnificent Seven” that are responsible for most of Wall Street's record rise. Their huge gains have created very high expectations for their growth, which they must meet in order to justify the sharp increases in their share prices.

Apple, another member of the Magnificent Seven, fell 0.5% even as it reported better-than-expected profit.

Charter Communications slumped 16.5%, posting the biggest loss in the S&P 500, after the company reported weaker-than-expected profit for its latest quarter.

In other trading, benchmark U.S. crude oil rose 39 cents to $72.67 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 52 cents to $77.85 a barrel.

The US dollar fell to 148.38 Japanese yen from 148.43 yen. The euro was at $1.0779, down from $1.0784.