By Chao Deng

Hawkish comments from Fed chief came late last week

Stocks in Japan surged to a one-month high and led most Asian shares up on Monday, as the Japanese yen weakened and investors assessed the latest comments from U.S. Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen.

The Nikkei Stock Average gained rose 1.4% o close at 17,068.02, and the Japanese yen weakened against the U.S. dollar to a one-month low. in late trade. A weaker currency boosts the returns of Japanese firms that pay costs at home in yen, and earn abroad in a strengthening foreign currency.

Elsewhere, the Hang Seng Index was up 0.3%, while the Shanghai Composite Index and Australia's S&P ASX 200 were roughly flat. South Korea's Kospi slipped by 0.1%.

In Singapore, shares of Noble Group (N21.SG) plunged 4.9%, after the commodities trader announced the resignation of its chief executive and the planned sale of its North America energy-solutions business, (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ceo-of-embattled-trading-firm-noble-group-resigns-2016-05-29) capping months of difficulties for the company.

Noble's share price has fallen by as much as two-thirds since February 2015 when an anonymous blogger first criticized its accounting practices.

For broader markets, investors remain fixated on the matter of U.S. interest rates.

Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen said late Friday that a rate increase would be appropriate in coming months (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/feds-yellen-says-an-interest-rate-rise-is-probably-coming-in-months-2016-05-27) if the economy continues to strengthen.

"This is generally in line with market expectations as a series of positive U.S. economic data have led a number of Fed governors to take a more hawkish stance towards a possible summer rate hike," said Margaret Yang, a market strategist with CMC Markets in Singapore.

Higher rates may have investors pulling out of riskier assets including stocks in Asian emerging markets. At the same time, an increase would signal strengthening in the U.S. economy, a positive driver for stocks. On Friday, data showed that a U.S. slowdown in the first quarter wasn't as bad as initially thought.

U.S. stock markets are closed Monday for the Memorial Day holiday. But U.S. equities rose Friday, as riskier corners of the market, such as technology stocks, picked up.

Read:Stock futures rise in shortened trading day as investors brush aside Yellen comments (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/stock-futures-rise-in-shortened-trading-day-as-investors-brush-aside-yellen-comments-2016-05-30)

In Japan on Monday, shares rose also on strong indications Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government will postpone its plan to raise the consumption tax in April. The Nikkei closed above the 17,000 level for the first time since April 27.

Read:Mizuho CEO warns of repercussions if Japan delays sales-tax hike (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mizuho-ceo-warns-of-repercussions-if-japan-delays-sales-tax-hike-2016-05-29)

Market players are shifting their focus to the strong likelihood that a second Japanese supplementary budget will be rolled out this fiscal year, to give a boost to the economy, says Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management senior strategist Masahiro Ichikawa.

Supplementary budgets are supposed to be emergency measures to deal with unexpected economic events, such as an earthquake, but in recent years such spending has become routine.

A Nikkei report expects a supplementary budget in the realm of 5 to 10 trillion yen ($45 to $90 billion).

-- Jake Maxwell Watts contributed to this article.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 30, 2016 06:22 ET (10:22 GMT)