Shanghai Pudong district at sunrise
Dukai Photographer | Moment | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets rose Monday, ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration as investors awaited greater clarity on the policies of the incoming U.S. administration.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 2.41% to the highest level since Dec. 31, lifted by the consumer cyclicals and educational services sector, data from LSEG showed. Mainland China’s CSI 300 added 0.86% after China left its benchmark lending rates unchanged Monday.
The People’s Bank of China held the 1-year loan prime rate at 3.1%, and the 5-year LPR at 3.6%. The offshore yuan strengthened modestly to 7.3345 against the greenback, while the onshore yuan traded at 7.323 per U.S. dollar.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 1.19%, while the Topix added 1.16%. South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.18% and the Kosdaq rose 0.48%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.46%.
Malaysia’s exports in December surged 16.9% year on year, shooting past Reuters’ estimates of 8.8%. This compares to November’s 4.1% rise. The country’s imports grew 11.9% compared to Reuters’ forecasts of 5.2%.
Hong Kong is set to report its unemployment figures for the same month later in the day.
Several central banks in Asia will be convening later this week. Malaysia’s central bank is expected to keep its policy rate steady at 3% on Wednesday. The Bank of Japan is holding its next policy meeting from Jan. 23 to Jan 24 — BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda has signaled intentions to hike rates. Singapore’s Monetary Authority of Singapore will be meeting on Friday.
The three major averages posted their first weekly gain of the new year on Friday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 334.70 points, or 0.78%, to end at 43,487.83. The S&P 500 gained 1% to 5,996.66, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.51% to 19,630.20.
President-elect Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke on the phone Friday about trade, Tiktok, fentanyl and more, talks which Trump described as “very good.”
U.S. markets will be closed on Monday.
—CNBC’s Hakyung Kim and Lisa Kailai Han contributed to this report.
