After an undecided start to the session, the flagship Nikkei index in Tokyo rose 0.33% to 27,476.87 points and the broader Topix index also gained 0.33% to 1,961.84 points.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange closed Monday in the green, despite lingering worries about the banking sector and Deutsche Bank in particular, while Hong Kong fell amid new doubts about the economic recovery in China.
After an undecided start to the session, the flagship Nikkei index in Tokyo rose 0.33% to 27,476.87 points and the broader Topix index also gained 0.33% to 1,961.84 points.
Deutsche Bank had unscrewed on Friday at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange due to a sharp increase in its costs of insurance against the risk of default (CDS), rekindling fears over the entire European banking sector.
The New York Stock Exchange, however, managed to overcome its anxieties and ended Friday up, which brought some support to the Tokyo market on Monday.
In Hong Kong, on the other hand, the Hang Seng index fell by 0.89% around 06:25 GMT.
In addition to worries about the banking sector, investors were also digesting a drop in profits for major Chinese industrial companies in the first two months of the year, according to official data released on Monday.
On the side of values
BANKS: Japanese banking stocks suffered from the renewed anxiety about their sector in the wake of Deutsche Bank, but limited their losses as the session progressed. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group fell 1.02% to 5,136 yen, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group lost 0.53% to 825.6 yen while Mizuho ended stable (-0.05% to 1,842.5 yen).
On the side of currencies and oil
The yen fell against the dollar, which was worth 131.28 yen around 0630 GMT against 130.73 yen on Friday at 2100 GMT.
The Japanese currency also lost ground against the euro, which was trading for 141.18 yen against 140.66 yen at the end of last week.
The euro was worth 1.0753 dollars against 1.0760 dollars on Friday at 9:00 p.m. GMT.
The oil market was on the rise: after 06:20 GMT the barrel of American WTI gained 0.59% to 69.67 dollars and the barrel of Brent from the North Sea advanced 0.52% to 75.38 dollars.