Market Update
Stocks in Asia ended mixed with the Japanese equities bouncing back after a long weekend, while markets in China and Hong Kong remained shut.
At close, Japan's Nikkei rose 1.6%, while India's Sensex and Australia's ASX fell 0.7% and 0.1%, respectively.
In commodities, silver prices crashed after their recent rally, while crude oil prices dipped after the news of the death of Osama Bin Laden. The U.S. dollar gained.
Stocks on the Move
In Tokyo, a weak yen spurred buying in exporter companies such as automakers and electronics firms.
Toyota, Honda and Nissan added 1.1% to 2.7% while Sony, Canon and Panasonic climbed 2.5% to 2.8%.
Indian stocks fell ahead of the monetary policy meeting at the Reserve Bank of India Tuesday, even as domestic inflationary pressures may lead the central bank to hike interest rates higher than expected.
Financials witnessed the most selling: State Bank of India fell over 4% while private lender ICICI Bank declined 1.4%.
In Sydney, the index swung towards both sides of the dotted line but managed to close about flat despite gains in mining stocks. BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto added 0.7% and 0.6%, respectively.