The Nikkei 225 index soared 2.1% to 38,468.63, Hang Seng gained 1.6% to 17,287.28, the Shanghai Composite index added 0.4% to 2,893.08, S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.8% to 7,989.60 and the Kospi climbed 1.2%, to 2,765.53
Asian stocks started the week with gains ahead of central bank policy meetings in the US and Japan, after a broad rally on Wall Street that capped a volatile week.
U.S. futures and oil prices advanced.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index soared 2.1% to 38,468.63.
The key focus in Asian markets this week will be the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy meeting on Wednesday, where investors widely expect the central bank to hike its key interest rate from its near-zero level to up to 0.3%.
The U.S. Fed will wrap up its policy meeting on Wednesday and is expected to keep its benchmark rate unchanged. But it might provide further support for a rate cut in September. This week also will bring U.S. jobs data on Friday.
In a monumental week for macro watchers, everyone is hoping for calm while bracing for the inevitable storm of volatility, Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management stated in a commentary.
Since the Fed began hiking interest rates in March 2022 to counter inflation, he said, the big market blunder has been prematurely expecting rate cuts — way too early and far too aggressively. It is like expecting dessert before finishing the main course.
The Japanese yen has weakened against the U.S. dollar in anticipation of such a change. Last week, the U.S. dollar was wavering near 154 yen. Early Monday, it was trading at 153.35 yen, down from 153.76 yen.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 1.6% to 17,287.28 and the Shanghai Composite index added 0.4% to 2,893.08 after official data on Saturday showed that industrial profits increased 3.5% in the first half of 2024 compared with last year. That was a positive news following recent interest rate cuts and other piecemeal stimulus that followed a top-level policy meeting of the ruling Communist Party earlier this month.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.8% to 7,989.60. In South Korea, the Kospi climbed 1.2%, to 2,765.53.
Elsewhere, Taiwan’s Taiex added 0.2%. The SET in Bangkok was shut for a holiday.
