Investing.com - Shares in Asia gained on Monday as a weaker yen aided Tokyo and investors looked ahead to minutes from the Federal Reserve later this week.
The Nikkei 225 was up 1.22%, while the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.66%. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.23%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was last up 1.40%.
The yuan fell against the U.S. dollar on Monday after the People's Bank of China set the fixing weaker for the second consecutive day at 6.5343 compared with 6.5246 previously.
In Japan, PPI data for April fell 0.3% month-on-month, more than the 0.2% decline seen, and at a 4.2% drop year-on-year, more than the 3.7% decrease expected.
In the week ahead, market players will be turning their attention to Wednesday’s minutes of the Federal Reserve’s March policy meeting for fresh clues on the timing of the next U.S. rate hike.
U.S. inflation data will also be in focus, as investors attempt to gauge if the world's largest economy is strong enough to withstand further rate hikes in 2016.
Last week, U.S. stocks fell sharply on Friday, ending the week with a whimper, as Financials and Consumer Staples, as well as a flattening of the yield curve weighed on the major indices.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 185.18 or 1.05% to 17,535.32, while the NASDAQ Composite index fell 19.65 or 0.41% to 4,717.68, continuing its recent downturn. At session-lows, the Dow tumbled by as much as 208 points.
The S&P 500 Composite index, meanwhile, dropped 17.50 or 0.85% to 2,046.61, as all 10 sectors closed in the red. Stocks in the Energy, Industrials and Financials industries lagged, each falling by more than 1% on the session.
The S&P 500 is virtually flat year-to-date.