Recession, currencies, oil, Russian debt
SINGAPORE – Shares in the Asia-Pacific region traded higher on Monday as investors rated fears of inflation and recession.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was up 2.13%, with the Hang Seng Tech Index up 3.46%. Alibaba’s shares in the Chinese city rose 4.13% while Meituan was up 4.09%.
The Chinese mainland markets also increased. The Shanghai Composite rose 0.56% and the Shenzhen component rose 0.766%.
Japanese Nikkei 225 soared around 1[ads1]% higher, while Topix rose 0.78%. In Australia, the S & P / ASX 200 rose 1.69%.
Kospi in South Korea rose 1.73%, and Kosdaq was 2.78% higher.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific equities rose 1.51%.
Russia defaults on foreign currency debt for the first time in more than 100 years, Bloomberg reported. The country’s central bank’s foreign reserves remain frozen.
In the company’s news, Trip.com is set to report its financial results for the first quarter on Monday in the US after the market closes. The company’s shares in Hong Kong were 6% higher before the announcement.
Later this week, China and Japan will report data from the Purchasing Managers’ Index, while Hong Kong will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the handover. Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the anniversary events, state media Xinhua reported this weekend.
On Friday in the US, shares rose to snatch up previous losses.
“It only underscores the fact that markets are going to be very volatile until we pass that peak in inflation and the prospect of central banks being as hawkish as they are,” said Kerry Craig, global market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management.
He said that markets tend to be choppy as many central banks in developed economies enter a new cycle of interest rate hikes.
“It’s when you’ve clarity on that path, then you start refocusing on the basics,” he told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Monday.
Futures fell slightly Sunday night after last week’s comeback.
Currency and oil
The US dollar index, which follows the dollar against a curve of its peers, was 104,010.
The Japanese yen traded at 134.61 per dollar, strengthening from levels above 136 against the dollar last week. The Australian dollar was at 0.6920 dollars.
Oil futures fell in Asia in early trading on Monday. US oil fell 0.33% to $ 107.27 a barrel, while the international benchmark index Brent oil fell 0.11% to $ 113 a barrel.
