Japanese shares climbed on Monday, boosted by a weaker yen, while other Asian markets struggled after comments from U.S. central bankers on Friday suggested interest rates could be raised sooner than expected.
The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo leaped 376.78 points, or 2.3%, to 16,737.49
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index doffed 88.2 points, or 0.4%, to 22,821.34
U.S. dollar strength also pushed the dollar/yen pair higher, trading at 102.37 on Monday afternoon local time from levels near 100.1 on Friday before the Jackson Hole remarks.
Also weighing on the yen, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Saturday at Jackson Hole that the central bank would approve further monetary easing without hesitation after the previous week's consumer prices data showed a dip in inflation.
The relatively weaker yen boosted Japan's major exporters, with Toyota closing up 4%, Honda adding 3.7% and Mitsubishi Electric gaining 3.6%.
Energy plays in the region were mixed, with shares of Oil Search down 1.5% and Woodside Petroleum off 2.8%, while Santos shares added 0.2%. Inpex was up 1.8%. Hong Kong-listed shares of CNOOC were off 0.5% and Petrochina shares fell 0.8%
In other markets
The Shanghai CSI 300 inched up 0.69 points to 3,307.78,
The Taiex Index in Taiwan stepped back 21.55 points, or 0.2%, to 9,110.17
In Korea, the Kospi index moved lower 5.15 points, or 0.3%, to 2,032.35
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index dipped 28.22 points, or 1%, to 2,829.43
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 dropped 24.05 points, or 0.3%, to 7,367.25
The ASX 200 subtracted 46.25 points, or 0.8%, to 5,469.22
