Investing.com - Asian shares gained on Monday as investors cautiously eyed other markets in the wake of the Brexit vote for the U.K. to leave the European Union with policymakers in Japan and China responding.
The Nikkei 225 rose 2.08%, while the S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.17%.
Chinese stocks rose, heading for their first increase in three days, with the Shanghai Composite up 0.86%.
The yuan fell against the dollar Monday, hitting its weakest level since end 2010 after the People's Bank of China set the fixing sharply weaker. The dollar's strength overnight after the UK referendum decided that Britain would lat 6.6421 compared with Friday's midpoint of 6.5776.
Last week, stocks on Wall Street closed sharply lower, as the sell-off in U.S. equities accelerated in the final hour of the session, after investors digested the impact of a historic decision by voters in the U.K. to approve a departure from the European Union.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 611.21 or 3.39% to 17,399.86, suffering its worst one-day sell-off since last August when China rattled global markets by unexpectedly devaluing the yuan. The S&P 500 Composite index fell 76.02 or 3.60% to 2,037.30, erasing all of its gains on the calendar year. Stocks in nine of 10 sectors closed in the red, as the Financial, Technology and Basic Materials industries lagged, each falling by more than 4%. Stocks in the interest rate sensitive Utility sector led, closing slightly higher for the day.
The NASDAQ Composite index, plummeted 202.06 or 4.12% to 4,707.98, experiencing its worst one-day decline since August, 2011. Following the losses, the NASDAQ ended the week in correction territory.
It came amid wild fluctuations on global markets, as the Vix Volatility Index spiked more than 45% to an intraday high of 26.19. The Vix reached its highest level since February 11 when it peaked above 30 after oil futures and the S&P 500 each slumped to multi-year lows.