Markets in Asia trended flat on Monday after the latest ballistic missile test by North Korea and as major markets are closed for public holidays today.
The Nikkei 225 dipped 4.27 points to 19,682.57
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 62.36 points, or 0.2%, to 25,701.63
Japanese electronics company Sharp said last Friday it was estimating a profit of 59 billion yen ($530 million U.S.) for the year ended March. This will be the company's first profit in four years. Sharp shares ended trade flat, at 415 yen a share.
Shares of Softbank Group were closed 1.9% lower at 8,732 yen a share on Monday, despite a note from Nomura last Friday that raised its target price of the Japanese telecommunications company from 11,550 yen to 11,280 yen a share. One analyst maintained his buy call on the stock.
The U.S. dollar was flat against the yen to trade, with the dollar fetching 111.33 yen compared to the 111.5 handle seen last week.
Meanwhile, the Australian dollar weakened against the greenback to trade at $0.7428.
Australian markets were down, a fall driven by their financials sub-index, which tumbled 1.4%.
North Korea fired what looked to be a ballistic missile near its coast. The missile reportedly landed in the Sea of Japan after staying in the air for six minutes. This is the ninth missile the hermit state has tested this year, as it faces increasing pressure from the U.S. and historical ally China over its missile testing program.
In other markets
Markets in Shanghai and Taiwan were closed for holiday
In Korea, the Kospi index fell 2.33 points, or 0.1%, to 2,352.97
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index lost 4.87 points, or 0.1%, to 3,214.55
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 subtracted 28.83 points, or 0.4%, to 7,412.74
In Australia, the ASX 200 slipped 44.59 points, or 0.8%, to 5,707.07
