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Asian stocks rose on Monday after Wall Street hit a new high and investors were encouraged by government stimulus and the roll-out of coronavirus vaccines.
Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul advanced.
Also read: Asia shares cautious as US futures ease, lot hanging on Biden plan
Wall Street’s advance on Friday was led by stocks that would benefit if vaccinations and government spending boost the US economy as much as expected.
Vaccines and stimulus have “helped to create an aura of high optimism,” John Bilton of JP Morgan Asset Management said in a report. He said “above-trend global growth” should last into 2022 and regions such as Europe that are at “peak pessimism” due to vaccine delays should accelerate later this year.
The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.7 per cent to 3,443.55 and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo advanced 1.1 per cent to 29,484.57. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 0.3 per cent to 28,437.46.
The Kospi in Seoul was up less than 0.1 per cent at 3,043.55 while Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 shed 0.2 per cent to 6,808.20. New Zealand and Southeast Asian markets advanced.
Markets have been swinging between optimism that vaccines might allow business and travel to return to normal and anxiety over setbacks in distribution and concern about possible inflation after massive government stimulus.
Investors were jolted last week by news Egypt’s Suez Canal, one of the busiest trade routes, was blocked by a cargo ship that became wedged into the waterway.
On Wall Street, the S&P rose 1.7 per cent on Friday to 3,974.54. A quarter of that gain came in the last five minutes of trading. That produced a weekly gain of 1.7 per cent after a 0.8 per cent decline the previous week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.4 per cent, to 33,072.88. The Nasdaq composite climbed 1.2 per cent, to 13,138.72, though it is 6.8 per cent below last month’s record high.
US stocks have benefited from President Joe Biden’s proposal for higher spending on infrastructure. Steelmaker Nucor climbed 8.9 per cent and miner Freeport-McMoRan rose 5.9 per cent.
In energy markets, benchmark US crude lost $1.04 to $59.93 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $2.41 to $60.97 on Friday. Brent crude, the basis for international oil prices, retreated 96 cents to $63.47 per barrel in London. It advanced $2.62 in the previous session to $64.57.
The dollar declined to 109.49 yen from Friday’s 109.69 yen. The euro edged down to $1.1787 from the previous session’s $1.1790.
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