Chinese stocks finished higher on Monday, with Shanghai shares extending a nine-session winning streak, finding support from bullish comments from China’s top securities regulator.
Meanwhile, Japanese stocks rose for a second straight session, closing at a new 15-year high.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index hiked 194.14 points, or 1%, to 19,754.36, its best close since mid-April in 2000.
Meantime, the yen slipped against the U.S. dollar, with the greenback buying ¥120.14, compared with ¥120.03 late Friday in New York.
The Hang Seng Index regained 119.27 points, or 0.5%, to 24,494.51,
CHINA
The Shanghai CSI 300 gained 79.49 points, or 2%, to 3,872.06
Monday’s rise in Chinese markets came after a spokesman for the China Securities Regulatory Commission said Friday that the recent gains for Shanghai-listed shares had its own "inevitability and rationality", and was due to China’s improving economic conditions.
The spokesman also said officials had spoken with MSCI Inc. and FTSE International Ltd. about including Shanghai A-shares on their respective indexes.
In other markets
The Taiex index in Taiwan moved higher 8.40 points, or 0.1%, to 9,758.09
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index settled 2.31 points, or 0.1%, to 3,410.13
The Kospi index in Korea dropped 0.65 points to 2,036.59
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 advanced 3.85 points, or 0.1%, to 5,875.23
The S&P/ASX index dropped 19.35 points, or 0.3%, to 5,956.14
