Asia markets trade mostly higher as investors come back from long weekend

Asia-Pacific markets were mostly higher on Monday as some investors returned from a long Easter weekend.

South Korea’s Kospi was 1.05% higher, leading gains in the region, and the Kosdaq index also gained 0.54%.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 was 0.45% higher, with the Topix up 0.55%.

In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.1%, while the Shenzhen Component was marginally lower.

Australian and Hong Kong markets remained closed due to a four-day Easter holiday till Monday.

India will release its fiscal deficit figures for March, as well as its March trade data, while Indonesia’s retail sales for February will also be out.

Last week, U.S. stocks wrapped up a short trading week on Thursday with all three major indexes posting gains.

The S&P 500 rose 0.36%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite outperformed with a 0.76% gain, boosted by a rise in Alphabet and Microsoft shares.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up marginally 2.57 points higher to 33,485.29 after losing more than 150 points at its session low.