Asian shares rose mostly Monday, as a replica of last week’s rally on Wall Street, with Japan’s benchmark currently reaching three-year highs on rising hopes. growth over the global economy.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 2.1% in morning trading to 29,378.18. Australia’s S&P / ASX 200 rose 0.8% to 6,897.80. South Korea’s Kospi shed showed nearly 0.4% to 3,109.14. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped nearly 1.0% to 29,575.61, while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.8% to 3,525.58.
Analysts expect the global economy to grow this year after a deal was struck last year over the pandemic. Export-led Asian countries, such as Japan, South Korea and China, are expected to gain significant momentum from the recovery.
Investors are encouraged by shocking physical employment reports, news that a recent rise in new coronavirus cases is easing, and progress in vaccine distribution.
In Asia, some companies have been lost to the effects of border controls and remote operation over COVID-19. But others have been big winners, such as Japanese video game company Nintendo Co. People who are stuck at home have turned to Nintendo games, and the company, which has struggled at times, seems to be heading for higher profits for the year. .
Venkateswaran Lavanya of the Treasury Department of Asia & Oceania at Mizuho Bank noted that euphoria was mingling with factual studies about vaccines being slowly delivered around the world.
“South Korea is resting on social pace measures, while Japan is considering raising the crisis in some key buildings if the situation improves,” Lavanya said of other positive developments. for the economy.
“Against this background, the Japanese stock market is expected to close at its highest level since 1991,” she said.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 ended last week its fifth win in a row and the biggest weekly hike since November. The index of signals rose 0.4% and ended the week 4.6% higher, more than making up for its decline in January. The latest win moved the S&P 500 to an all-time high.
The Nasdaq chart also ended the week with a high. Small-company stocks have outperformed the market in general, a sign that investors are feeling more optimistic about the economy.
The S&P 500 index rose 0.4%, to 3,886.83. The biggest weekly gain since November was. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.3% to 31,148.24. The Nasdaq rose 0.6% to 13,856.30. Russell’s 2000 index of smaller company stocks climbed 1.4%, to 2,233.33, the highest.
Investors are targeting the prospects for more stimulus. President Joe Biden urged Democrat lawmakers this week to “act swiftly” on his economic stimulus plan.
In energy trading, the U.S. crude rose 52 cents to $ 57.37 a barrel in e-commerce on the New York Merchants Trade. He earned 62 cents Friday to $ 56.85 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added 48 cents to $ 59.82 a barrel.
In currencies, the US dollar rose to 105.49 Japanese yen from 105.37 yen. The euro cost $ 1.2035, down from $ 1.2042.