Japanese shares led gains as Asia markets rallied on Monday despite weak Chinese trade data as sentiment was likely boosted by a stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report released Friday.
The Nikkei 225 leaped 396.12 points to 16,650.57. Japanese shares also received some boost from a relatively weaker yen.
In the currency market, the Japanese yen was relatively weaker against the U.S. dollar, trading as low as 102.25 early morning. As of late afternoon local time, the dollar/yen pair traded at 102.05, compared with levels near 100.8 in the previous week.
The weakness in the yen likely boosted major exporters in Japan. Shares of Toyota closed up 3.3% Nissan was higher by 2.6% and Mazda Motor gained 5.7%.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index ballooned 348.67 points, or 1.6%, to 22,494.76
Major banks in Australia gained nearly 1% or more, with National Australia Bank adding 1.4%.
In company news, Singapore's DBS Group announced its net profit for the second quarter was down 6% on-year at 1.05 billion Singapore dollars ($778 million U.S.) due to a net allowance charge of S$150 million for the bank's exposure to the Swiber group, which was placed under judicial management.
For the first half 2016, DBS said its net profit was at S$2.25 billion. DBS shares traded up 1.6%.
Shares of Mitsubishi Heavy closed up 4.6%, after a report that Iran intends to buy 20 regional jets from a business unit belonging to the company. Reuters said, citing the Mehr News agency, that the deal was likely to be finalized when a Japanese delegation visits Tehran in December.
On the earnings front, Australian bank Bendigo and Adelaide Bank announced an after-tax profit of 415.6 million Australian dollars ($316.41 million U.S.) for the 12 months ended June 30, 2016. Cash earnings were at A$439.3 million, a 1.6% on-year increase.
Shares of Bendigo and Adelaide Bank closed up 4.3%
Asian energy plays broadly advanced, with Oil Search adding 1.9%, Woodside Petroleum rising 1.9%, Inpex gaining 3.2% and Japan Petroleum up by 3.7%
CHINA
The Shanghai CSI 300 gained 29.07 points, or 0.9%, to 3,234.18
China's exports and imports fell more-than-expected in dollar-denominated terms in July, which could revive concerns over the economic outlook for the world's second largest economy both at home and abroad.
Exports for July fell 4.4% on-year, while imports declined by 12.5% in dollar terms. Analysts had predicted declines of 3% for exports and 7% for imports.The trade surplus for the month came in at $52.31 billion U.S.
The Chinese yuan was marginally weaker against the greenback, trading at 6.6588. Analysts at ANZ Research said that the yuan, which is also known as the renminbi, will see "modest depreciation pressures in the near term" despite the "sizeable" trade surplus registered in July
In other markets
The Taiex Index in Taiwan added 58.14 points, or 0.6%, to 9,250.26
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index hiked 42.61 points, or 1.5%, to 2,870.78
In Korea, the Kospi moved up 13.18 points, or 0.7%, to 2,031.12
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 advanced 39.88 points, or 0.6%, to 7,348.30
The ASX 200 gained 40.43 points, or 0.7%, to 5,537.84
