Asian shares rise after US gains, support for China: markets close

(Bloomberg) — Asian shares were mostly higher in early trading after U.S. stocks set a new record amid resilient corporate earnings and after China took steps to strengthen its real estate market.

Most read from Bloomberg

Stocks in Australia and Japan rose, and Hong Kong futures pointed to early gains on Monday. U.S. stock futures also headed higher after the S&P 500 Index climbed Friday and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 40,000 for the first time.

Traders will look to China on Monday following Beijing’s attempt to rescue the country’s beleaguered property market, even as concerns remain that the measures could be too small. The recent rally in Chinese shares has extended to Asian shares, with the MSCI Asia Pacific Index rising for six days in a row, matching the longest winning streak this year.

Market participants will be on the lookout for any market implications after a helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi crashed in dense fog. Oil fell in early trading.

Bloomberg’s dollar index was little changed Monday after falling last week as traders refined their bets on the Federal Reserve’s outlook after inflation eased more than economists expected in April. This week, a chorus of Fed officials will speak, including Governor Christopher Waller, who will speak specifically about the US economy and monetary policy.

“We continue to expect the Fed to cut rates by 50 basis points this year, with further cuts in 2025 and 2026,” said Solita Marcelli, Chief Investment Officer Americas at UBS Global Wealth Management. “This creates a favorable macro environment that supports our investment recommendation for quality bonds and quality equities.”

Australian 10-year yields rose in early trading in Asia, while 10-year government bond yields were little changed.

This week, traders will look at measures of economic activity in Europe, as well as inflation figures in Britain, Canada and Japan. Policy decisions in New Zealand, Indonesia, South Korea and Chile are also in the pipeline, while Nvidia Corp. will report profits.

Some important events this week:

• Prime rates for Chinese loans, Monday

• Thailand’s GDP, Monday

• BOE Deputy Governor Ben Broadbent will speak on Monday about monetary policy transmission

• Chile’s GDP, Monday

• Reserve Bank of Australia will release the minutes of its May policy meeting on Tuesday

• CPI Canada, Tuesday

• Fed Governor Christopher Waller will speak on Tuesday about the US economy and monetary policy

• BOE Governor Andrew Bailey will give a lecture on Tuesday

• New Zealand interest rate decision, Wednesday

• Indonesia tariff decision, Wednesday

• CPI South Africa, Wednesday

• British CPI, Wednesday

• FOMC minutes from April 30-May 1 policy meeting, Wednesday

• Singapore CPI, GDP, Thursday

• South Korea interest rate decision on Thursday

• India S&P Global Manufacturing & Services PMI, Thursday

• Eurozone S&P Global Services PMI, S&P Global Manufacturing PMI, consumer confidence, Thursday

• US new home sales, first jobless claims, Thursday

• Chile tariff decision, Thursday

• Japanese CPI, Friday

• Germany GDP, Friday

• Malaysia CPI, Friday

• U.S. Durable Goods, University of Michigan Consumer Confidence, Friday

The story continues

Some of the major moves in the markets:

Shares

• S&P 500 futures rose 0.1% as of 9:02 a.m. Tokyo time

• Hang Seng futures rose 0.8%

• The Japanese Topix was little changed

• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.3%

• Euro Stoxx 50 futures fell 0.2%

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed

• The euro was little changed at $1.0871

• The Japanese yen was little changed at 155.76 per dollar

• The offshore yuan was little changed at 7.2342 per dollar

Cryptocurrencies

• Bitcoin rose 0.1% to $66,250.38

• Ether fell 0.1% to $3,071.62

Bonds

Raw materials

• West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.3% to $79.81 a barrel

• Spot gold rose 0.1% to $2,417.97 an ounce

This story was produced with the help of Bloomberg Automation.

–With assistance from Richard Henderson.

Most read from Bloomberg Businessweek

©2024 BloombergLP