Shares in Hong Kong, Japan and Australia saw gains on Monday.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 95.38 points, or 0.5%, to 20,833.77. Shares of tech giant Sony closed down 8.1% after the company cut its sales and operating revenue forecast for the fiscal year.
The Japanese yen traded at 109.75 against the U.S. dollar after touching highs below 108.8 in the previous trading week.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index -- which closed at noon local time with the eve of the Lunar New Year holidays -- gained 59.47 points, or 0.2%, to 27,990.21
Australian markets in positive readings. The Royal Commission which looked into misconduct in Australia’s financial sector released its final report on Monday, with 76 recommendations for practices across banking, insurance, and financial advice.
The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7230 U.S. after seeing lows below $0.715 last week.
In other markets
Markets in Taiwan, Shanghai, and Korea remained shuttered for holiday
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index sank 4.12 points, or 0.1%, to 3,184.56
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 declined 19.76 points, or 0.2%, to 8,979.41
In Australia, the ASX 200 regained 28.37 points, or 0.5%, to 5,891.20
