Asian stocks edge higher as Shanghai rises, South Korea’s Kospi falls sharply

Several of Asia's leading indices are making strong gains in morning trading. At lunchtime, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 is up 0.3 percent, while the broader Topix is up 0.1 percent.

In China, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange rose 0.2 percent, while Shanghai rose 1.0 percent. The Hong Kong-based Hang Seng is closed due to a public holiday.

The Kospi in South Korea is down 2.3 percent.