Asia Pacific markets were mixed on Monday as investors digested better-than-expected jobs data in the U.S. and reports of progress in trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing.
The Nikkei 225 shed 45.85 points, or 0.2%, 21,761.65, as index heavyweight Fanuc declined 0.7%.
Among other currency pairs, the Japanese yen traded at 111.44 to the U.S. dollar, after touching levels below 111.00 in the previous week.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index returned from a long weekend to gain 140.83 points, or 0.5%, to 30,077.15
Korean Air Lines said on Monday that its chairman, Cho Yang-ho, passed away — weeks after he was ousted from the Korean Air board. The carrier has been hit in recent years by a series of scandals involving its founding family members, culminating in the indictment of Cho last year on charges of embezzlement and breach of trust. Cho had denied the charges against him.
Shares of Korean Air Lines jumped 1.9% and Hanjin Transportation — where Cho also served as chairman — added 15.1%. Hanjin KAL, the holding company for the Hanjin Group conglomerate where Cho was chairman, saw gains of 20.6%.
The Australian dollar was at $0.7096 U.S. after seeing lows around the $0.705 handle last week.
CHINA
The CSI 300 in China resumed trading with a five-point loss, or 0.1%, to 4,057.23
Investors also continued to monitor developments on U.S.-China trade.
On Saturday, Chinese official broadcaster CCTV reported that there was "new progress" in trade talks that wrapped in Washington on Friday, Reuters reported. U.S. and Chinese officials were said to have discussed draft agreement text on contentious issues such as technology transfer, protection of intellectual property rights, and the bilateral trade balance, among others.
In other markets
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index dropped 7.22 points, or 0.2%, to 3,315.42
Korea’s Kospi Index nicked ahead 0.99 points to 2,210.60
The Taiex Index in Taiwan resumed trading Monday with a hike of 96.19 points, or 0.9%, to 10,800.57
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 moved lower 49.97 points, or 0.5%, to 9,807.08
In Australia, the ASX 200 regained 40.09 points, or 0.7%, to 6,221.35
