Asia-Pacific stocks rise; Australia shares lag as Covid infections spike

SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific mostly rose in Monday morning trade as investors look ahead to the release of Chinese food delivery giant Meituan's earnings.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 advanced 0.2% while the Topix index gained 0.57%. South Korea's Kospi traded 0.32% higher.

Mainland Chinese stocks nudged higher as the Shanghai composite rose 0.21% while the Shenzhen component hovered above the flatline. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index traded 0.28% higher.

The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia lagged the broader region, slipping 0.12%. That came after the country's most populous state New South Wales reported on Monday a record one-day rise in new Covid-19 infections, according to Reuters.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.43% higher.

Investors in the region will look ahead to the release of earnings from Chinese food delivery giant Meituan on Monday.

In other Chinese tech developments, Beijing is reportedly looking at new rules that would restrict domestic internet firms from going public in the U.S., according to the Wall Street Journal.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 92.616 following a recent drop from above 93.0.

The Japanese yen traded at 109.74 per dollar, weaker than levels below 109.5 seen against the greenback last week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7316, having climbed last week from below $0.72.

Oil prices were higher in the morning of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures up 0.34% to $72.95 per barrel. U.S. crude futures advanced fractionally to $68.78 per barrel.