Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index led gains among the major Asia-Pacific markets on Monday as Chinese tech stocks in the city jumped.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 regained 70.49 points, or 0.3%, to 27,736.47.
The Japanese yen traded at 122.60 per U.S. dollar, stronger than levels above 124 seen against the greenback last week.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index popped 462.76 points, or 2.1%, to 22,502.31, as shares of Tencent surged 2.96%. Other Chinese tech stocks also rose — Alibaba was up 3.7% while NetEase soared 6.6%.
Investor sentiment may have been buoyed by a recent signal by Chinese authorities of progress toward resolving an audit dispute that’s threatened U.S.-listed Chinese firms with delisting.
Meanwhile, the city’s chief executive Carrie Lam announced Monday she will not be pursuing a second term in office.
The Australian dollar was at $0.7511, having traded in a range between $0.747 and $0.753 for much of last week.
Markets in China and Taiwan were shuttered for holiday.
In other markets
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index ditched 2.14 points, or 0.1%, to 3,416.97
In Korea, the Kospi index recovered 18.05 points, or 0.7%, to 2,757.90.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 slipped 36.25 points, or 0.3%, to 12,053.19.
In Australia, the ASX 200 restocked 19.93 points, or 0.3%, to 7,513.74.
