Asia markets slip as China's 'Two Sessions' meeting gets underway; gold sets new record

This is CNBC's live blog covering Asia-Pacific markets.

Asia-Pacific markets fell as China's "Two Sessions" meeting got under way, with investors watching out for the details of its economic plans after the country projected a GDP growth target of "around 5%" for 2024.

The country also expects the inflation rate to rise to "around 3%."

The CSI 300 index fell 0.6%. Beijing also said it would boost its defense spending by 7.2% in 2024.

Separately, the Caixin services purchasing managers' index reading for China will be released later in the day.

South Korea's revised GDP figures showed its economy grew 0.6% for the fourth quarter of 2023, while Japan's capital city of Tokyo's inflation rebounded from a 22-month low in February.

Japan's Nikkei 225 fell below the 40,000 mark after crossing that milestone on Monday, dropping 0.6%, while the Topix was down 0.06%.

South Korea's Kospi also slipped 0.13%, and the small-cap Kosdaq shed 0.92%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 1.4%.

The Taiwan weighted index edged 0.2% to hit a record high.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was trading nearly flat.

On the commodities front, gold futures settled at a record high on Monday as traders bet the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates in the second half of the year. Futures reached $2,126.30, before falling slightly to $2,115.38 per ounce currently.

Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes retreated with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite off all-time highs, despite technology stocks tied to the artificial intelligence boom seeing a rally.

The S&P 500 shed 0.12%, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.41%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.25%.

— CNBC's Clement Tan, Sarah Min and Alex Harring contributed to this report

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