A technical glitch halted trading in the Australian stock market for most of the session on Monday, but other Asia markets gained ahead of central bank meetings in the U.S. and Japan later in the week.
Markets in Japan were shuttered for holiday
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index returned from a long weekend to gain 214.86 points, or 0.9%, to 23,550.45
The technical glitch delayed the Australian market open and then halted trade in the afternoon before market operator Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) said in a media statement the market would not re-open on Monday, and there would be no closing single price auction.
The ASX 200 had lost 1.94 points to 5,294.76 at the time of the shutdown.
In company news, electronics giant Samsung closed up 2% at 1,558,000 won ($1,391.56 U.S.) a share, following a Wall Street Journal report that said the company sold shares in hard drive maker Seagate Technology, chip maker Rambus, semiconductor-equipment maker ASML Holding and Sharp.
In Taiwan, Apple-supplier Pegatron jumped 7.2%, while Quanta added 5.7% and Largan tacked on 5.7%.
Meanwhile, in Japan, the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) policy decision itself would carry sentiment in the market, according to Attrill, along with the release of the central bank's comprehensive review of the efficacy of its policy measures to date, which was also due.
There has been persistent uncertainty over what BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda might do next.
Both the Fed and the Bank of Japan are set to begin their two-day policy meetings on September 20.
Among the major currency pairs, the Japanese yen strengthened slightly against the dollar, trading at 102.06, compared with its last close at 102.28. The currency pair will be closely watched ahead of the Fed and BOJ decisions.
Elsewhere, the Australian dollar traded at $0.7534 U.S., compared with its last close at $0.7488. The Aussie, which is a commodity currency, likely received a leg-up from higher oil prices on Monday.
In other markets
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 picked up 24.39 points, or 0.8%, to 3,263.12
The Straits Times Index in Singapore added 24.69 points, or 0.9%, to 2,852.14
The Kospi index in Korea got back in business with a gain of 16.42 points, or 0.8%, to 2,015.78
In Taiwan, the Taiex index leaped 250.58 points, or 2.8%, to 9,152.88
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 tacked on 27.61 points, or 0.4%, to 7,278.13
