Japanese stocks outperformed the region to scale fresh 15-year highs at the open, likely drawing strength from a strong finish on Wall Street last week, as other bourses in the region saw modest losses.
U.S. stocks jumped about 1 percent to close near intra-day highs on Friday following a pullback in the U.S. dollar. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 index closed up 0.9 percent each, while the Nasdaq gained 0.7 percent.
Meanwhile, Lee Kuan Yew, former prime minister and founding father of Singapore, passed away at age 91 on Sunday, according to a statement from the prime minister’s office.
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