Stocks in Asia-Pacific rose in Monday morning trade, with investors watching shares of Japanese conglomerate Softbank Group following an announcement of its sale of U.K. chip designer Arm.
South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.23%. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.65% in morning trade while the Topix index added 0.84%.
Mainland Chinese stocks were higher in early trade, with the Shanghai composite up 0.26% while the Shenzhen component also added 0.484%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.44%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged about 0.5% higher. Shares of Macquarie Group, however, dropped more than 3% after the firm announced Monday it anticipated a 35% plunge in its first-half earnings.
Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded 0.55% higher.
Softbank shares pop
Japan political developments
Meanwhile, developments in Japanese politics were also watched as the search for the successor for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe continues.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga is seen as the front-runner to succeed Abe, according to Kyodo News, which reported that the ruling Liberal Democratic Party is set to hold an election to choose its new leader on Monday.
The Japanese yen traded at 106.12 against the greenback, following a weakening last week from levels below 106 per dollar.
Oil prices mixed
Oil prices were mixed in the morning of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures down slightly to $39.80 per barrel. U.S. crude futures, on the other hand, added 0.24% to $37.42 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 93.247 after bouncing from levels around 92.7 last week.
The Australian dollar was at $0.7278 after rising from levels below $0.725 last week.
Source: CNBC