Asia markets closed higher while the pound rose on Monday, amid easing Brexit concerns after several weekend polls showed the remain camp regained momentum ahead of a referendum vote to decide the U.K.'s future within the European Union (EU).
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 ballooned 365.64 points, or 2.3%, to 15,965.30, as a relatively weaker yen took some pressure off stocks and investors ignored news of a more than 11% drop in Japanese exports for the month of May.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index leaped 340.22 points, or 1.7%, to 20,510.20
The yen, considered a safe-haven asset, traded at 104.69 against the U.S. dollar, after pushing as high as 103.58 following the Bank of Japan's decision to stand pat on monetary policy on Thursday.
Major export stocks received a boost from the relative weakness in the yen, with shares of Toyota closing up 2.7%, Nissan up 2.7% and Sony higher by 3.1%
Major yen crosses also traded higher, with the euro/yen at 118.68, from levels near 115.46 on Thursday. The pound/yen was up 152.56, compared to around 149.00 late last week.
Some of the impact of the yen's strength was felt in Japan's trade numbers, released before market open. Exports declined 11.3% on-year in May according to the Ministry of Finance data, versus a median estimate for a 10.4% annual fall.
Britons will head to the polls on June 23 to vote to decide if the U.K. should leave or stay within the 28-member EU trade bloc. If the "leave" camp won, the process of negotiating a British exit from the EU would begin, but talks could take more than two years.
Public opinion appeared to have slightly tilted in favor of the "remain" camp, according to several polls over the weekend.
Energy plays in the region were positive, with Santos shares advancing 9.6%, Woodside Petroleum up 5.9% and Inpex up 5%
Spot gold, another safe-haven asset, fell some 1.1% to $1,283.76 U.S. an ounce on the back of easing Brexit concerns. Gold miners in Australia finished lower, with Newcrest shares down 2.5% and Evolution Mining down 3%
In company news, electronics giant Samsung said power supply to its China memory chip plant was disrupted on June 18 due to an outage, affecting a part of the production capacity at the facility. The disruption affected fewer than 10,000 memory chip wafers at the plant.
Investors appeared unconcerned over the news, with Samsung Electronics shares closing up 0.4% on Monday afternoon.
In other markets
The Shanghai CSI 300 recovered 15.69 points, or 0.5%, to 3,110.30.
In Korea, the Kospi eked up 1.41 points, or 0.1%, to 1,953.40
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index regrouped 11.86 points, or 0.4%, to 2,763.42
In Taiwan, the Taiex index hiked 73.94 points, or 0.9%, to 8,568.08
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 let go of 41.5 points, or 0.6%, to 6,847.07
The ASX 200 picked up 16.68 points, or 0.3%, to 5,162.66
