Stocks in Asia-Pacific were mixed in Monday trade, as markets in India are closed for a holiday.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan gained 0.79% in morning trade while the Topix index advanced 0.48%. South Korea’s Kospi, on the other hand, dipped 0.33%.
Mainland Chinese stocks were mixed as the Shanghai composite gained 0.12% while the Shenzhen component shed 0.29%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined 0.4%.
Shares in Australia also traded in negative territory as the S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.31%.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.11% lower.
In corporate developments, shares of Chinese video platform Bilibili slumped in their debut in Hong Kong on Monday, falling more than 5% from their issue price in early trading. The firms follows the likes of other U.S.-listed Chinese firms such as Alibaba and Baidu in raising money in Hong Kong.
Markets in India are closed on Monday for a holiday.
Stateside, the S&P 500 closed at a new record on Friday and brought its 2021 gains to 5.8%.
Currencies and oil
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 92.858 after rising earlier this month from levels below 92.
The Japanese yen traded at 109.70 per dollar, having weakened last week from levels below 109 against the greenback. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7622, falling a decline last week from above $0.768.
Oil prices were lower in the morning of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures declining fractionally to $64.52 per barrel. U.S. crude futures also shed 0.31% to $60.78 per barrel.
