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.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.56% in early trade while the Topix index added 0.69%. South Korea’s Kospi also gained 0.8%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.64% higher. Shares of Macquarie Group, however, plunged 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 0.22% higher.
Softbank shares pop
Shares of Japan’s Softbank Group soared Monday morning following an announcement that the firm is set to sell U.K. chip designer Arm to U.S. chip firm Nvidia. In Monday morning trade, Softbank Group’s stock surged 8.75%.
Chipmaker Nvidia has agreed to buy Arm Holdings, a designer of chips for mobile phones, from Softbank in a deal worth $40 billion, the companies announced Sunday. The deal will be for a mix of $21.5 billion in Nvidia stock and $12 billion in cash, including $2 billion payable at signing.
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 106.10 against the greenback, following a weakening last week from levels below 106 per dollar.
Currencies
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 93.267 after bouncing from levels around 92.7 last week.
The Australian dollar was at $0.7282 after rising from levels below $0.725 last week.
Here’s a look at what’s on tap:
- China: House prices data for August at 9:30 a.m. HK/SIN
Source: CNBC