SINGAPORE – Asia Pacific stocks were mixed on Monday morning, with lower trading volume expected as major markets in China and Japan are closed for public holidays.
South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.63% in morning trade. In Australia, the S & P / ASX 200 gained 0.38%.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index lost 1.17%.
MSCI’s broadest index for stocks in the Asia-Pacific region outside of Japan was down 0.31%.
Asia Pacific investors will continue to monitor the Covid situation in India as the country continues to battle a deadly second wave of infections. Over the weekend, more than 400,000 new cases were registered for the first time every day.
The markets in China, Japan and Thailand are closed on Mondays for public holidays.
Currencies and oil
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback versus a basket of its peers, stood at 91.221 after rising below 90.9 late last month.
The Japanese yen was trading at 109.41 per dollar, weaker than below 108.5 versus last week’s greenback. The Australian dollar changed hands at $ 0.7726 after falling above $ 0.776 in late April.
Oil prices were higher on the morning of trading hours in Asia and the international benchmark’s Brent crude oil futures rose 0.19% to $ 66.89 a barrel. The US crude oil futures also gained 0.27% to $ 63.75 a barrel.
