Asia markets drift higher after China rolls out tariffs

Asia Pacific stocks edged higher on Monday as China imposed new tariffs on US goods after previously floating the proposal last month.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 edged higher by 0.23 percent after opening in negative territory and the broader Topix rose 0.17 percent.

Elsewhere, South Korea's Kospi index climbed 0.77 percent in early trade. Financials, automakers and retailers advanced, while manufacturing and tech stocks traded mixed.

Despite the overall gain, heavyweight Samsung Electronics traded down 1.06 percent.

Markets in Australia, Hong Kong and New Zealand were closed on Monday for the Easter holiday.

China announces tariffs

An ongoing trade spat between the US and China continued to develop, with China announcing early on Monday that it was implementing tariffs on 128 types of US imports starting Monday.

That matched the list of products proposed by Beijing in March and comes as a direct response to US President Donald Trump signing off on tariffs on imported steel and aluminum last month. China said in March that those goods had an import value of USD 3 billion in 2017.

While the market reaction on Monday appeared calm for the most part, global stocks had taken a beating last month as markets worried over the possibility of a trade war taking place.

Regional markets had closed higher on Friday, with the Nikkei 225 rising 1.4 percent and South Korea's benchmark Kospi index advancing 0.39 percent following the Thursday rally in US markets.

Markets stateside were closed the previous session for Good Friday.

On the economic front, Japan's tankan survey showed large manufacturers were less confident in March compared to one quarter ago, Reuters said. Big companies, however, also indicated they intended to increase capital spending by 2.3 percent in the new financial year, topping the 0.6 percent projected.

Elsewhere, data released on Saturday showed that manufacturing activity in China expanded more than expected in March.The official Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 51.5 last month, above the 50.5 estimated in a Reuters survey. That also topped the 50.3 figure seen in February.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion. Conversely, a reading below that figure signals contraction.

Markets awaited the release of the Caixin/Markit PMI reading, which focuses on small and mid-size manufacturing in the country.

In corporate news, Toshiba said in a Friday statement that the planned sale of its memory chip unit would likely be completed in April. It added that the company still intended to close the deal "as soon as possible." The agreement had been previously slated to be completed by Mar. 31. Toshiba stock drifted 0.32 percent higher.

Meanwhile, shares of Japan Display fell 4.66 percent in early trade. The decline came after the screen maker announced plans to raise funds, which Reuters said would total USD 518 million.