Asian shares were higher on Monday, with Chinese markets closed for holiday, on the first trading day of the new quarter, as traders cast an eye at news ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to the U.S.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan surged 73.97 points, or 0.4%, to 18,983.23,
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong regained 149.89 points, or 0.6%, to 24,261.48
U.S. President Donald Trump told the Financial Times Sunday that the U.S. will take unilateral action to eliminate nuclear threats from North Korea, unless China, one of the hermit state's closest allies, intensifies pressure on Pyongyang.
China's Xi is set to meet with Trump on Thursday and Friday at the latter's Florida Mar-a-Lago golf resort.
The Bank of Japan's Tankan quarterly survey showed that large Japanese manufacturers' sentiment was up +12, lower compared to an economists’ poll forecast for +14. Japan's service sector saw sentiment improve, up +20.
Toshiba shares plunged 5.5% on Monday after media reports that the Japanese conglomerate might miss a third deadline to report its quarterly business results.
In Hong Kong, Huishan Dairy shares were suspended on Monday, after its chairman and controlling shareholder sold his shares during the company's plunge last Friday which wiped off more than $4 billion U.S. off the market capitalization.
Korean markets gained some muscle as the country’s first digital bank, K Bank, launched on Monday and will allow customers to open a bank account or apply for a loan on customer's smartphones.
Earlier, data showed that February retail sales fell 0.1% from January, while approvals to build new homes in February jumped 8.3%, beating expectations of a 1% drop.
Australian coal haulage group Aurizon Holdings said that damage from Cyclone Debbie in Queensland could mean some rail lines used by miners, including BHP Billiton, could be closed for repairs for more than a month. Shares of Aurizon Holdings were down 1.1%, and BHP Billiton slipped 0.2%
Against the U.S. dollar, the yen was at 111.49, down from levels as high as 112.19 seen last Friday, and the Australian dollar slipped to $0.76 from $0.7633 U.S. earlier before the data.
In other markets
Markets in Shanghai and Taiwan were shuttered for holidays
The Kospi Index in Korea recovered 7.28 points, or 0.3%, to 2,167.51
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index nicked up 12.4 points, or 0.4%, to 3,187.51
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 gained 28.23 points, or 0.4%, to 7,225.01
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 inched up 7.78 points, or 0.1%, to 5,872.68
