LONDON (ShareCast) - (ShareCast News) - Japan led the start of what was set to be a quiet week in Asia on Monday, with many markets - particular those in mainland China - closed for the week-long Lunar New Year holiday.
A buoyant Nikkei Stock Average closed up 1.1%, after data from SMBC Nikko Securities suggested companies listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange would record a combined 3.4% year-on-year rise in net profit in the year to March.

That data covered 71% of companies with fiscal years ending in March, that had released earnings as of 5 February. Despite the rises, the Nikkei had dropped 12% in 2016 already on Friday, putting the index at 12.8 times the next 12 months of earnings, according to numbers from S&P Capital IQ.

"Individual stock-picking is helping the index turn positive. Monetary policy had been a primary focus, but that wouldn't continue for good", said Resona Bank group leader of asset management Takashi Hiratsuka, referring to the Bank of Japan's negative interest rates and controversial easing policies of recent months.

Nippon Telegraph & Telephone also posted stronger earnings on Monday, rising 2.55% by end of play.

Traders were also less concerned about any decision from the US Federal Reserve in March, after data on Friday showed slower job growth but stronger wage inflation. The speed at which US policymakers tighten their fiscal policy had been a serious concern since the milestone rise in rates in December.

"The Fed's raising rates isn't the main scenario, but that possibility is still left open", said Daiwa SB Investments general manager for economic research Soichiro Monji.

Slowing growth in China - another recent concern - was off the table due to the holiday this week, but the fallout of oil price drops for producing countries and the energy industry continued to be worries. On the forex markets, the yen strengthened against the greenback on Monday, up 0.14% to JPY116.71 per dollar. The Aussie gained 0.4% on the dollar to AUD1.4093, and the Kiwi clawed 0.09% closer to NZD1.5073.

After Asian trading hours, Brent crude was down 2.04% to $33.39 and West Texas Intermediate was down 1.78% to $30.35 per barrel.

Australia's equity losses were stemmed by gains in energy and mining on Monday, with the S&P/ASX 200 closing down 0.02%. BHP Billiton gained 1.05%, while Rio Tinto added 2.19% in Sydney trading.

In India, the Sensex was down 1.34%. That was despite bank stocks recovering after Friday's announcement that the government was to set a minimum price on a number of steel products to keep the effect of cheap Chinese and Russian imports at bay.

The news eased worries about debt at Indian banks that had made significant loans to large metal and manufacturing firms - Axis Bank was up 4.53% and State Bank of India was up 2.99%. New Zealand markets were closed for the country's national Waitangi Day holiday.

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