Major Asian indexes closed mostly higher on Monday, as regional markets appeared to shrug off heightened geopolitical tensions in the Korean Peninsula and digested the release of China Purchasing Managers Index data.
The Nikkei 225 dropped 34.66 points, or 0.2%, to 19,925.18
The Hang Seng Index vaulted 344.6 points, or 1.3%, to 27,323.99, its highest level since May 2015
Meanwhile, Japan June industrial production numbers released Monday reflected a rise of 1.6% on month, compared to estimates of 1.7%. The metric recorded a 3.6% fall in the month of May
The Japanese currency strengthened slightly against the dollar following the news, trading as little as 110.45 to the U.S. dollar after the release compared to around 110.5 seen before. The greenback fetched 110.66 yen.
Markets also kept an eye on geopolitical developments in the Korean peninsula after North Korea test launched a projectile on Friday. In response, the U.S. flew two B-1B bombers over the peninsula and urged countries in the region to do more to tackle the issue.
South Korean retailers were a mixed picture following the heightened tensions: Lotte Himart closed higher by 4.7%, but Shinsegae and
Hyundai Department Store fell 1.5% and 1.8%, respectively. Shares of Lotte Shopping closed down 8.5% after falling more than 10% earlier in the session.
The company was downgraded by Nomura to "neutral" from "buy" in a July 29 note. Analysts cited a larger-than-expected THAAD impact on the retailer's hypermarket business in China. Lotte Shopping's domestic retail business were also lackluster even after store renovations were carried out
In corporate news, Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings announced Sunday it would sell its fixed-line business to private equity firm I Squared Capital for $1.9 billion U.S. Hutchison Telecommunications stock were up 8.5% late afternoon Monday, after soaring more than 13% in early trade.
On the earnings front, HSBC announced a $2-billion U.S. share buyback for the second half of the year. In addition, HSBC's first-half pre-tax profit of $10.24 billion beat the $9.5 billion average analyst forecast. HSBC shares listed in Hong Kong rose 2.8% on the news.
Japan Airlines reported after the market close that first-quarter earnings increased 12% on year to 24.7 billion yen ($223.4 million U.S.). The airline also revised upwards its earnings forecast for the year to 153 billion yen from 142 billion yen. Japan Airlines stock was off 0.6% at the end of the session.
Mizuho Financial Group also announced quarterly earnings after the market close. The company announced a 10.8% drop in net profits in its first quarter. Net profits stood at 118.3 billion yen ($1.07 billion U.S.) for the April to June quarter.
Results from Japan's Panasonic are also expected.
Australian markets made their way up, driven by the strong showing in its materials sub-index, which finished the session up 1.5%.
The Australian dollar, which is sensitive to Chinese economic data, declined before the release to trade as low as $0.7953 U.S. on the news compared to levels around the $0.798 handle seen earlier. The Aussie dollar recovered to trade at $0.7979 U.S.
CHINA
The CSI 300 gained 15.98 points, or 0.4%, to 3,737.87
Market movers in the China markets included companies in the metals space, with Baotou Steel closing higher by 10.2% and Aluminium Corporation shares listed in Shanghai climbing 9.9%.
In China, official manufacturing PMI for July stood at 51.4, compared to forecasts of 51.6. The July figure was also below June's reading of 51.7. Meanwhile, the official services PMI came in at 54.5 for July, compared to the 54.9 seen in June.
While manufacturing PMI data tends to be more closely watched, China's pivot toward domestic consumption and away from investment-led growth means the services sector accounts for a bigger slice of the mainland economy.
In other markets
In Taiwan, the Taiex index inched up 4.28 points to 10,427.33
In Korea, the Kospi index eked up 1.72 points, or 0.1%, to 2,402.71
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index dipped 1.23 points to 3,329.52
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 moved upward 54.48 points, or 0.7%, to 7,693.99
In Australia, the ASX 200 recovered 17.77 points, or 0.3%, to 5,720.59
