Investing.com - Asian shares mostly gained on Monday despite a weekend missile test by North Korea that raised further concerns on its ability to deliver a nuclear warhead as far as the U.S. states of Hawaii and Alaska.
The Nikkei 225 rose 0.34%. In Japan, Toshiba rose 0.04% after U.S. nuclear arm Westinghouse Electric indicated that it would lockout 172 union members as contract negotiations had reached an impasse.
Also, shares of automotive parts manufacturer Takata jumped 16.42%. Shares of the company had jumped more than 20% in the last session on news of that some automakers had agreed to a settlement over the use of defective Takata airbags.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.66% and South Korea's benchmark Kospi index gained 0.36%.
The Hang Seng Index traded 0.37% higher, but markets on the mainland were in the red. Cathay Pacific said it will cut 600 jobs in its bid to turn around losses. The airline had posted its first annual loss in close to a decade in March this year.
The Shanghai Composite bucked the trend and eased 0.18%.
Last week, U.S. stocks closed higher on Friday, as investors shrugged off U.S. political turmoil and piled back into equities amid dovish comments from St. Louis Federal Reserve president James Bullard.
In what a subdued day of top-tier economic data release, investors parsed through somewhat dovish comments from St. Louis Federal Reserve President, James Bullard, on Friday.
Bullard suggested the Fed’s policy path of two more rate hikes this year is “overly aggressive” relative to the pace of recent economic growth.
Technology, financials and energy, led the rally, as the latter benefited from a surge in crude futures, which settled above the $50 level for the first time since April.
The rally eased later during the session, after a report from The Washington Post revealed that the investigation into possible coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign identified a current White House officials as a “significant person of interest”.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 20,804.84, up 0.69%. The S&P 500 closed 0.68% higher, while the Nasdaq Composite closed at 6083.70, up 0.47%.