Chinese mainland indices under pressure Worries about the growth outlook for China returned on Monday, putting mainland indices under pressure and leaving their peers across Asia looking more cautious. Nonetheless, indices remained around some of their best levels of the year, reached after last week's confirmation of fresh stimulus measures in the US There were concerns among traders that Beijing could take longer to introduce looser monetary policy as it waited to assess the impact of the Federal Reserve's third round of quantitative easing. It brought pressure on to financial, property and industrial stocks, the same sectors which led the advance during the risk rally, also leaving them open to profit taking as the mood became more cautious. The Shanghai Composite fell 2.1 per cent to 2,078.50 with Guangzhou Iron and Steel among its biggest fallers, down 7.9 per cent at Rmb6.09. Poly Real Estate was 6.7 per cent softer at Rmb9.71. Sinolink Securities was 5.9 per cent weaker at Rmb12.28. The Shenzhen Composite was 2.9 per cent weaker at 864.19. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fared better, falling just 0.1 per cent overall to 20,658.11, on lingering hopes that the economic stimulus already announced in the US would help lift sluggish volumes on the island. Oil major Cnooc was the best single gainer, up 3.7 per cent at HK$16.24, in line with stronger crude prices. HSBC rose 1 per cent to HK$73.45. Tokyo markets remained closed in observance of the Respect for the Aged national holiday. Buoyant resource stocks helped the ASK/S&P 200 hold its ground in Sydney. The Australian benchmark was 0.3 per cent higher at 4,402.53, leaving it within reach of its best reading for the calendar year of 4,448.5. "Markets are just taking a breather after the strong run they experienced at the end of last week," said Stan Shamu, strategist at IG Markets. As a result, we have seen some fairly tight ranges being maintained.