Investing.com - Japanese shares gained 0.56% on Monday, tracking a rally on Wall Street, with investors hoping the European Central Bank will announce fresh stimulus this week.
The Nikkei 225 rose to 16,957.86, but investors cast an eye on China, where the benchmark Shanghai Composite index plunged almost 6% after regulators cracked down on rule violations for margin trading, which has helped fuel an extended rally.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 0.90%. A stronger yen has also not weighed on Tokyo shares.
The Swiss National Bank announced on Thursday last week it was abandoning the minimum rate of 1.20 francs against the euro, a ceiling it had imposed three years ago
during the euro zone debt crisis.
Sony Corp Ord (TOKYO:6758) jumped 2.14%, Canon Inc (TOKYO:7751) rose 0.92% and energy giant Inpex Corp. (TOKYO:1605) added 2.95%.
Bucking the uptrend, Sharp Corp. (TOKYO:6753) tumbled 6.75% after the Nikkei business daily said the electronics maker would lose money in its fiscal year through March due to a slump in its television business.
Last week, U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Oil & Gas, Health Care and Basic Materials sectors led shares higher.
At the close in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.10%, while the S&P 500 index gained 1.34%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 1.39%.