MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was flat, after U.S. stocks ended the previous session with negligible gains for the day. The index is down 3.6% so far this month. A negative tone was evident as Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slid 0.38% and the mainland's CSI300 Index dropped 0.37%, led by a 1.5% decline in technology firms .