(Bloomberg) — Asian equities were primed to rise on Monday after Wall Street snapped a five-day losing streak, helped along by fresh demand for big tech stocks.
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Shares in Australia and equity futures for Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore all edged higher, while those in Japan fell. US contracts were little changed after the S&P 500 ended Friday up 1.3% and the Nasdaq 100 rose 1.7%, ending a sell-off that had wiped more than a trillion dollars from the equity market.
The dollar was mixed against major currencies early Monday, after an index of greenback strength fell Friday for the first time in eight sessions. The yen gave up some of its gains against the dollar from late last week to trade around 157 per dollar.
Australian government bond yields climbed in early trading, echoing a move in Treasuries on Friday when the US 10-year yield rose four basis points.
Demand for stocks signals a renewed appetite for risk among investors after declines in the final trading sessions of last year extended into 2025. The selling pressure has now enticed some investors back to some of the dominant themes that powered markets in 2024, including artificial intelligence.
In Asia, tech stocks will be in focus given the moves in New York trading on Friday. Taiwan-listed Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., the assembly partner to Nvidia Corp. and Apple Inc. that’s also known as Foxconn, reported better-than-expected revenue over the weekend. The results are a sign that demand for AI infrastructure remains robust.
In South Korea, a court dismissed an appeal by lawyers of Yoon Suk Yeol against an arrest warrant for the impeached president, according to a local media report Sunday.
In Asia, data due Monday includes China Caixin services and composite PMI, Thai inflation and industrial production for Vietnam. Elsewhere, Israel’s central bank will hand down an interest rate decision, while data for release includes German inflation, US factory orders and S&P Global services and composite PMI.
Fed Comments
In the US, Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook will speak at a conference on law and microeconomics at the University of Michigan. Her colleague Tom Barkin, Richmond Fed President, suggested on Friday his preference was to keep rates restrictive for longer. The comments, and data showing the US economy remains strong, underscore the challenge investors face in deciphering the path ahead for US interest rates after Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s hawkish pivot in December.
Investors are also contemplating Donald Trump’s return to the White House in two weeks.
“We really need to see more of that clarity on Jan. 20 for markets to have greater conviction,” Laura Cooper, global investment strategist at Nuveen, said on Bloomberg Television. “US exceptionalism will continue to be the dominant theme at least in the first half of the year, regardless of what some of those policies that come through are.”
Elsewhere, President Joe Biden is set to order a ban on new offshore oil and gas development across some 625 million acres of US coastal territory, ruling out the sale of drilling rights in Atlantic and Pacific waters as well as the eastern Gulf of Mexico.
West Texas Intermediate climbed, extending a rally from last week to trade around $74 per barrel. Gold was little changed at around $2640 per ounce.
Key events this week:
China Caixin services and composite PMI, Monday
Eurozone HCOB services and composite PMI, Monday
Germany CPI, Monday
Israel rate decision, Monday
US factory orders, S&P Global services and composite PMI, Monday
Fed Governor Lisa Cook speaks, Monday
Eurozone CPI, unemployment, Tuesday
France CPI, Tuesday
US job openings, trade, ISM services, Tuesday
Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin speaks, Tuesday
Australia CPI, Wednesday
Eurozone PPI, consumer confidence, Wednesday
Germany factory orders, Wednesday
US ADP employment, FOMC minutes, consumer credit, Wednesday
FOMC minutes, Wednesday
Fed Governor Christopher Waller speaks, Wednesday
ECB Governing Council member Francois Villeroy de Galhau speaks, Wednesday
China CPI, PPI, Thursday
Eurozone retail sales, Thursday
Mexico CPI, Thursday
BOE Deputy Governor Sarah Breeden speaks, Thursday
Brazil CPI, Friday
India industrial production, Friday
Japan household spending, leading index, Friday
US nonfarm payrolls, unemployment, University of Michigan consumer sentiment, Friday
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
S&P 500 futures were little changed as of 8:29 a.m. Tokyo time
Nikkei 225 futures fell 0.7%
Hang Seng futures rose 0.4%
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.4%
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
The euro was little changed at $1.0304
The Japanese yen fell 0.1% to 157.45 per dollar
The offshore yuan was little changed at 7.3603 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin rose 0.2% to $98,664.25
Ether rose 0.1% to $3,650.03
Bonds
Commodities
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
