Japanese shares started the week on a positive note, as the nation recorded its third consecutive expansion.
The Nikkei 225 advanced 168 points, a 0.2% gain, to open Monday's session at 68,882.06.
Official data released Monday revealed that Japan's economic expansion decelerated more than anticipated in the second quarter, driven by persistent weakness in business investment amid Middle East tensions.
GDP rose at a 1.1% annualized pace, cooling from the prior quarter's 1.9% growth.
Sands China (HKG:1928) recorded a 3.6% decline in profit attributable to equity holders in the first half to $398 million from $413 million a year prior.Earnings per share slipped to $0.0492 from $0.051 previously, according to a Friday Hong Kong bourse filing.Net revenue increased 11% to $3.88 billion from $3.49 billion in the year-ago period.The company declared an interim dividend of HK$0.50 per share for the period, payable Oct. 9 to shareholders of record as of Sept. 18.
Longfor (HKG:0960) expects profit attributable to owners of between 1.8 billion yuan and 2 billion yuan for the six months ended June 30, down from 3.22 billion yuan a year prior.The property developer attributed the forecast to a continued decline in recognized revenue from the property development business and pressure on the recognized gross profit margin.
Metallurgical Corp. of China (SHA:601618, HKG:1618), or MCC's, newly-signed contract value for the seven months ended July 31 stood at around 447.5 billion yuan.Of the total, the value of newly-signed overseas contracts reached roughly 39.1 billion yuan, according to a Friday Hong Kong bourse filing.