Most Asian markets traded higher on Monday morning as investors continue to watch developments on issues like the coronavirus pandemic.
Shares in Taiwan led gains among the region’s major markets, as Taiex soared 2.69%, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company shares rose nearly 10%. South Korea’s Kospi also saw robust gains as it rose 1.29%.
Mainland Chinese stocks were also higher in early trade, with the Shanghai compound rising 0.55%, while the Shenzhen component added 1.074%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was 0.93% higher.
On the economic data front, China’s industrial earnings for June soared 11.5% yoy, according to the country’s National Bureau of Statistics.
Japanese stocks lagged regionally, with the Nikkei 225 falling 0.51%, while the Topix index lost 0.48%.
The Bank of Japan’s Summary of Opinions for its mid-July meeting, released Monday, said the country’s economy is expected to “recover moderately” from the second half of 2020. However, the central bank warned that it is the economy is unlikely to “return to the level reached before the COVID-19 outbreak” even in fiscal year 2022.
In Australia, the S & P / ASX 200 was up 0.23%.
Overall, the ex-Japan MSCI Asia Index was 1.28% higher.
Investors’ attention is likely to be focused on lawmakers in the United States as they try to push for yet another coronavirus stimulus package. United States Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin said Sunday that Republicans have finalized a bill worth about $ 1 trillion in coronavirus relief funds.
Globally, more than 16 million people have been infected with the coronavirus, and the United States accounts for about a quarter of that number, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Tensions between the United States and China, which took center stage last week when the shares of mainland China plunged on Friday amid a strong exchange of words between the two economic powers, also continued to be monitored by investors.
“Intermittent spikes in tensions between the United States and China are likely to become the norm as the November 3 US presidential election approaches,” economists at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia wrote in a morning note.
The US Dollar Index, which tracks the dollar against a basket of its peers, was at 94,107 after falling from levels above 96 last week.
The Japanese yen was trading at 105.73 per dollar after strengthening strongly at the end of last week from levels above 106.5 against the dollar. The Australian dollar changed hands to $ 0.7126 after rising from levels below $ 0.702 last week.
Oil prices fell on the morning of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude oil futures falling 0.35% to $ 43.19 a barrel. US crude oil futures also shed about 0.2% to $ 41.21 per barrel.
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