Asian markets closed mixed Monday, with Japan shares losing ground, as a disappointing May jobs report in the U.S. on Friday weakened the dollar and bolstered regional currencies, including the yen.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 lost 62.2 points, or 0.4%, to 16,580.03
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index gained 82.98 points, or 0.4%, to 21,030.22
The U.S. dollar weakened against the Japanese yen, with the dollar-yen pair trading as low 106.35 on Monday during Asian hours, compared with levels ranging from around 108-111 last week before the release of the U.S. jobs numbers.
But the slight advance in the dollar/yen pair during the session did not fully ease the pressure on Japanese export stocks. Major exporters mostly finished lower, with Toyota shares falling 0.1%, Nissan down 1.3% and Honda off by 1.9% But Sony shares erased early losses, ending up 0.4%.
A stronger yen is a negative for exporters as it reduces their overseas profits when converted into local currency. On Wednesday Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced a delay in the country's planned sales tax hike and detailed a new stimulus package to revive the Japanese economy. That move also had spurred the yen higher.
Helping to bolster the Nikkei index, shares of Softbank, which has an around 4% weighting in the benchmark index, ended up 1.2% after the Japanese internet and telecom giant said it will sell most of its stake in GungHo Online Entertainment in a deal valued at 73 billion yen.
That follows Softbank's announcement last month that it would sell at least $7.9 billion U.S. worth of its stake in Chinese internet giant Alibaba to raise capital.
Australian resources producers received a sharp boost on Monday on the back of the weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs data.
Major Australian miners rose sharply, with shares of Rio Tinto closing up 3.9%, Fortescue advancing 4.2% and BHP Billiton higher by 3.7%. Gold miners soared, with Newcrest up 11.6%, Evolution Mining gaining 13.4% and Alacer Gold advancing 5.9%
Also providing some support to the Australian dollar, on Tuesday, data showed Australia's first quarter gross domestic product grew 1.1% in the three months to March. Analysts suggested the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) would likely leave monetary policy unchanged at its next meeting. In its May meeting, the RBA lowered the cash rate by 25 basis points to a record low 1.75%.
In company news, Noble shares dropped 9.6%, after tumbling over 13% earlier, extending Friday's more than 13% drop after the commodities trader said on Friday it was raising $500 million U.S. in a fully underwritten rights issue and that its chairman will step down within 12 months.
CHINA
The CSI 300 Index subtracted 10.54 points, or 0.3%, to 3,178.79
In other markets
Markets in Korea and New Zealand were shuttered for holiday
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index moved higher 22.05 points, or 0.8%, to 2,831.28
In Taiwan, the Taiex Index added 5.54 points, or 0.1%, to 8,597.11
The ASX 200 gained 41.53 points, or 0.8%, to 5,360.42
