Most Asian indexes closed in positive territory on Monday after U.S. jobs data beat forecasts and as Chinese inflation data for June were in line with expectations.
The Nikkei 225 gained 151.89 points, or 0.8%, to 20,080.98
The Hang Seng Index sprang back to life 159.21 points, or 0.6%, to 25,500.06
In corporate news, Citi initiated coverage on Sony Financial Holdings in a note on Friday with a sell rating and a target price of 1,600 yen. Sony
Financial shares closed higher by 0.3% at at 2,042 yen each.
Elsewhere, shares of Hong Kong-listed Orient Overseas International jumped 19.5% on news of a $6.3-billion offer from shipping company
Cosco Shipping Holdings. Shenzhen-listed shares of Cosco have been suspended since May, but its Hong Kong-listed shares were off by 0.3%.
Shares of Hong Kong-listed Wanda Hotel Development jumped as much as 155% on news it was selling 76 hotels and 13 cultural and tourism projects to Sunac, a Tianjin-based property developer for 63.18 billion yuan ($9.29 billion U.S.). Wanda Hotel shares were up 37.93 percent mid afternoon.
Sunac shares in Hong Kong were suspended from trade on Monday ahead of an announcement of "substantial development."
Japan core machinery orders in May dropped 3.6% on month, missing the 1.7% rise experts had forecast
The yen weakened to trade at 114.21 to the U.S. dollar late afternoon Monday. The currency had initially traded at 113.88 yen to the dollar immediately after the news, compared with levels around 113.96 seen before.
The weakening in the yen also followed the Bank of Japan stepping up plans for its bond-buying program on Friday.
The Australian dollar, which is sensitive to Chinese economic data, was largely unaffected by the headlines. The Aussie dollar gained later in the session to trade at $0.7603 U.S. late afternoon, off a high of $0.7614 hit earlier in the session.
CHINA
The CSI 300 slid 2.24 points, or 0.1%, to 3,653.69
June inflation data out of China was in line with expectations. The China consumer price index (CPI) gained 1.5% on-year and the producer price index (PPI) rose 5.5%. Both figures were in line with forecasts
Deleveraging in the financial sector is also expected to have a negative impact on financial activity and ultimately affect the Chinese economy
In other markets
In Taiwan, the Taiex index dropped 7.34 points, or 0.1%, to 10,289.91
In Korea, the Kospi index inched up 2.23 points, or 0.1%, to 2,382.10
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index gathered 17.34 points, or 0.5%, to 3,246.35
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 docked 38.18 points, or 0.5%, to 7,583.95
In Australia, the ASX 200 took on 20.87 points, or 0.4%, to 5,724.44
