Modupe Gbadeyanka
By Investors Hub
Asian stocks finished broadly higher on Monday as oil prices climbed and the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy report released on Friday suggested a gradual pace of interest rate hikes in 2018.
U.S. bond yields declined from recent four-year highs as investors awaited U.S. inflation data and the first House testimony by the new head of the Federal Reserve for further insight on inflation and interest rates.
Chinese stocks rose for the sixth straight session ahead of the official and Caixin purchasing managers’ indexes due this week.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite index rallied 41.23 points or 1.23 percent to finish at 3,330.25, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index climbed 231.43 points or 0.74 percent to 31,498.60 after China’s ruling Communist Party proposed scrapping term limits for the country’s president.
Japanese shares rallied on the back of sharp rises in U.S. stocks on Friday. The benchmark Nikkei jumped 260.85 points or 1.19 percent to 22,153.65 while the broader Topix index closed 0.81 percent higher at 1,774.81 ahead of a barrage of data due this week.
Automakers Honda Motor and Mazda Motor rose over 1 percent while index heavyweights SoftBank and Fast Retailing gained 1.7 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively.
Inpex gained 1 percent and Japan Petroleum jumped 2.7 percent after crude oil prices gained more than 1 percent on Friday. Sharp Corp jumped over 4 percent on a Nikkei report that it would set up a joint venture with a Hon Hai subsidiary.
Australian shares rose for a fourth day, thanks to rising oil and iron ore prices as well as solid earnings results. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index gained 42.40 points or 0.71 percent to finish above 6,000 points for the first time since February 5, while the broader All Ordinaries index ended up 40.90 points or 0.67 percent at 6,146.10.
Beach Energy advanced 1.5 percent and Woodside Petroleum rallied 1.8 percent as global oil prices hovered near three-week highs, helped by comments from Saudi Arabia that it would continue to curb exports to stabilize oil markets.
Mining heavyweights BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto ended on a mixed note. BlueScope Steel jumped 2.3 percent after the company extended its share buyback by a further $150 million for a second time. Ardent Leisure rose 2.9 percent after narrowing its first-half loss.
The big four banks rose between 1.3 percent and 1.9 percent after comments from a Fed official helped ease concerns about a faster pace of rate hikes in the U.S.
Gold miner Newcrest dropped 1.2 percent after it agreed to take a minority stake in Toronto-listed Lundin Gold.
Insurer QBE tumbled 3.3 percent after it swung to a full-year $US1.25 billion ($A1.6 billion) loss. Telco service provider Amaysim declined 3.9 percent after saying it would not declare interim dividend for 2018.
