2017.04.2405:27:00UTC+00Asian Markets Mostly Higher After First Round of French Elections

Asian equities were mixed, with most markets trading higher on the outcome of the first round of the French presidential elections while Chinese stocks had their worst day of 2017. The euro stabilized versus the dollar to trade at $1.0864.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index soared 1.37 percent to end at 18,875.88 on the back of French polls. South Korea's Kospi rose 0.4 percent at 2,173.74. Australia's ASX 200 gained 0.3 percent at 5,871.8.

Equities in mainland China faced their worst performance of the year, as the Shanghai Composite fell 1.4 percent while the Shenzhen Composite tumbled 2.44 percent at 1,873.3734.

Losses in stock indexes on the mainland follows as Chinese media said that the government will have to endure greater levels of volatility while regulators dealt with shadow banking, according to a report from Reuters.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index opened lower after the decline in Chinese shares but later pared losses to trade 0.45 percent higher.