Oil weighs on Asian gains
(CNN) -- Asian stocks closed mainly higher Monday, but lingering worries about the price of oil and its impact on global growth kept gains in check.
South Korea posted the biggest rise of about 1.7 percent.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 average finished up 0.28 percent to 11,101.64.
The broader Topix index closed 0.50 percent ahead to 1130.89.
Taiwan's market slipped almost 0.4 percent after China repeated threats Monday to do whatever was necessary to reunify what it regards as a renegade province. (Full story)
Asian markets weighed the impact of a number of oil-related announcements at the weekend.
A meeting of the Group of Seven leading economies in New York Sunday saw the G7 finance ministers call for increased oil output to help maintain the fast pace of economic growth. (Full story)
That came after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) at the weekend deferred a decision on an output increase until a full meeting on June 3.
Earlier, Saudi Arabia said it wanted the OPEC cartel to raise output by two to 2.5 million barrels a day.
U.S. crude oil futures slid almost one percent in early electronic trading Monday, but analysts say uncertainty over oil prices remains a drag on the market.
In Tokyo, big banks led the way ahead of their earnings announcements.
There were gains of 2.7 percent for MTFG, 2.1 percent for SMFG, 2.0 percent for UFJ and 1.26 percent for Mizuho.
But tech-related stocks were mainly weaker, with a fall of 3.7 percent for Mitsubishi Electric, 1.5 percent for Tokyo Electron, 1.7 percent for Toshiba and Advantest, and smaller falls for NEC, Fujitsu and Hitachi.
Consumer electronics heavyweight Sony ended down 1 percent to 3920 yen.
Leading carmaker Toyota was unchanged at 3890 yen. But Mitsubishi Motors fell 6.2 percent to 225 yen after Friday's $4 billion restructuring proposal. (Full story)
South Korea higher
In Seoul, the Kospi closed up 1.69 percent to 799.64.
Hyundai Motor jumped 4.3 percent to 44,850 won and SK Telecom rose 2.65 percent to 193,500 won. Samsung Electronics was up 1.8 percent to 511,000 won.
In Taiwan, the Taiex closed down 0.38 percent to 5942.08. The market's biggest stock TSMC was down 1.8 percent to T$54.00 and smaller rival UMC lost 1.45 percent to T$27.10.
Markets in Australia and New Zealand both closed slightly higher, with the S&P/ASX200 up 0.18 percent to 3401.5 and the Top 50 up 0.17 percent to 2599.10.
Leading Australian miner BHP Billiton put on 1.5 percent to A$11.95 and Qantas Airways rose 1.2 percent to A$3.41. But discount rival Virgin Blue fell 2 percent to a record low of A$1.93.
In Singapore, the Straits Times index is up 0.3 percent to 1772.77 heading towards the close. SingTel is 1.35 percent ahead to S$2.26.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index is up about half a percent to 11,633.04. HSBC is steady at HK$111.00
The moves in Asia follow a positive finish on Wall Street Friday, with the Nasdaq up 0.8 percent and the Dow ending almost 0.3 percent higher. (Full story)
