Asian markets closed mixed on Monday as investors digested trade concerns and U.S. jobs numbers, while U.S. crude topped the $70 mark for the first time since 2014 during late morning trade.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 returned after a long weekend to slide 5.62 points to 22,467.16
Against the safe-haven yen, the U.S. dollar firmed as the session progressed, last trading at 109.21 after earlier slipping below the 109 level in Asia morning trade.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index recovered 67.76 points, or 0.2%, to 29,994.26, as the property and tech sectors, two of the three most heavily weighted sectors on the index, dipped back into negative territory. Energy stocks were up 2% before the market close, with CNOOC gaining 2.6%.
Australian markets registered broad-based gains, with energy and materials names leading the advance.
On the corporate front, Singapore's second-largest bank by total assets, OCBC, reported net profit after tax for the first quarter rose 29% to 1.11 billion Singapore dollars ($833 million U.S.), missing an average forecast of S$1.18 billion. Shares declined 3% late in the day
Elsewhere, Australia's Westpac announced Monday that its first-half cash earnings rose 6% to 4.2 billion Australian dollars ($3.2 billion U.S.), above the A$4.17 billion forecast in an economist poll. Westpac shares pared steeper gains seen in the morning to close higher by 0.8%.
In other markets
Markets in Korea were shuttered for holiday
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 regained 59.59 points, or 1.6%, to 3,834.19
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index fell 12.52 points, or 0.4%, to 3,532.86
In Taiwan, the Taiex Index gained 75.54 points, or 0.7%, to 10,604.91
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 added 38.58 points, or 0.5%, to 8,587.94
In Australia, the ASX 200 regrouped 21.58 points, or 0.4%, to 6,084.47
