Treasury yields remained low and the dollar nudged to its lowest level in more than a week as investors continued to assess the prospects for higher US rates and the risk of recession.
The Japanese Nikkei rose 1.04%, while Australia’s benchmark jumped 1.69%.
Chinese blue chips rose 0.54% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.46%.
The South Core Kospi gained 1.65%.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific stocks rose 1.31%.
However, US equity futures are pointing to a 0.25% drop when these markets reopen. On Friday, the S&P 500 jumped more than 3%, adding a gain of nearly 1% on Thursday.
“We had a decent weekend in the US markets and I think that will be the main scene for Monday here in Asia,” amid a lack of news or other new drivers, said Rob Carnell, senior economist. head for Asia-Pacific at ING.
“We’ve had two days of decent action in series now. It’s perhaps remarkable that we’ve had some consistency at this level.”
Crude oil fell in volatile trading on Monday as the market grappled with fears that a global economic slowdown could depress demand, amid concerns over the loss of Russian supply under conflict-related sanctions. in Ukraine.
Brent and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures both fell more than a dollar earlier. But, prices rebounded with Brent $112.78 a barrel, down 34 cents, and WTI $107.17, down 45 cents. [O/R]
Long-term US Treasury yields hovered around 3.13% after rebounding from a two-week low of just above 3% at the end of last week.
Yields have fallen from 3.456%, the highest in more than a decade, reached before the Fed’s mid-month meeting. The central bank then raised rates by 75 basis points, the biggest increase since 1994, and signaled that a similar move is possible in July.
“The market remains focused on the trade-off between the policy response to high inflation and fears of a hard landing,” Damien McColough, rates strategist at Westpac, wrote in a client note.
“There will be ongoing discussion about whether long-term yields have peaked, however we would not yet expect 10-year yields to fall materially or sustainably below 3%.”
The dollar remained stable on Monday, continuing to consolidate near its lowest level since mid-month against its major counterparts.
The Dollar Index – which measures the currency against six rivals – was little changed at 104.01, after gradually climbing in recent sessions to a June 17 low of 103.83.
Gold rose 0.32% to $1,832.10 an ounce.
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