2018.02.0803:34:00UTC+00Asian Indexes Rally Despite Weakness in Wall Street

Majority of stock indexes in the Asian region edged up on Monday after the prior session's rally ground to a halt late in the trading day.

Gains in Asia came after the slightly lower closing levels observed on Wall Street as U.S. bonds rallied.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 surged 1.42 percent after settling barely in positive territory in the previous session. Financials, carmakers, and manufacturers traded higher, while technology shares were mixed.

South Korea's Kospi's advanced 1.04 percent after ending in negative territory on Wednesday. Heavily weighted tech stocks advanced, with chipmaker SK Hynix rising 3.94 percent to add to the prior's session's gains. Samsung Electronics surged 1 percent, appearing unaffected by the news that its chairman Lee Kun-hee was implicated of tax evasion. South Korean manufacturers were mixed,

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.24 percent as losses in the energy and materials sectors were countered by gains in the financials sub-index, which rose 0.75 percent,

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index advanced 0.72 percent. Mainland indexes traded mixed after falling behind other regional indexes in the prior session. The Shanghai composite declined 1.66 percent, while the Shenzhen composite advanced 0.92 percent.