Asian stocks jumped and the dollar strengthened Monday after Hurricane Irma weakened and North Korea marked a weekend holiday with celebrations but refrained from launching more missiles, easing geopolitical tensions.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index jumped 1.4 per cent to 19,539.19 as the yen came off recent highs against the dollar, easing pressure on exporters. South Korea's Kospi advanced 0.7 per cent to 2,360.95.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 1.0 per cent to 27,948.69 and the Shanghai Composite in mainland China rose 0.2 per cent to 3,370.41. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.8 per cent to 5,714.90.
Southeast Asian benchmarks rose but Taiwan's index lost ground, according to AP.
Major US benchmarks ended Friday with little change. The S &P 500 index lost 0.1 per cent to 2,461.43. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.1 per cent to 21,797.79. The Nasdaq composite dropped 0.6 per cent to 6,360.19.
The greenback strengthened as the latest developments gave traders less reason to flee to the yen, traditionally considered a haven.
The dollar rose to 108.36 yen from 107.84 yen on Friday. The euro dipped to $1.2010 from $1.2038.
Oil futures rebounded, with benchmark US crude rising 39 cents to $47.87 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The contract skidded $1.61, or 3.3 per cent, to settle at $47.48 a barrel on Friday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, rose 27 cents to $54.05 a barrel in London.
