Investing.com-- Most Asian stocks rose on Monday as investors piled into cyclical stocks heading into the last week of November, while focus turned to a slew of upcoming economic readings, including China’s industrial data and India’s third-quarter GDP.
Sentiment was also buoyed by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's nomination of prominent investor Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary, with Bessent seen holding a much more moderate view on trade tariffs.
Regional markets tracked Friday's gains on Wall Street, where demand for economically sensitive sectors saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average close at a new high, and S&P 500 mark its fifth winning day in a row.
U.S. stock index futures rose in Asian trade, tracking optimism over Bessent's appointment. Bond yields also fell after his appointment, lending stocks more space to rise.
Investors shrugged off risk worries induced by heightened tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Moscow launched an advanced hypersonic missile on a Ukrainian facility last week and threatened nuclear retaliation for Kyiv’s use of Western-made, long-range missiles.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index added 1.2%, while the TOPIX rose 1%. Both indexes logged weekly losses last week.
South Korea’s KOSPI rose 1.4%, while Indonesian shares, specifically the Jakarta Stock Exchange Composite Index jumped 1.7%.
Bucking the trend, China's Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes were down 0.6% and 0.4%, respectively. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index shed 0.4%.
Futures for India’s Nifty 50 index pointed to strong open. Reuters reported that Adani dollar bond prices fell to almost one-year lows on Monday as investors cut their exposure to the Indian conglomerate in the wake of bribery and fraud allegations from U.S. authorities.
Econ. data barrage on tap this week
Singapore is scheduled to release its inflation figures for October later in the day. Economists polled by Reuters expect the headline inflation rate of 1.8%, down from the 2% in the previous month.
South Korea's central bank is set to decide on interest rates on Wednesday, while November inflation numbers from Japan’s capital city of Tokyo will be released on Friday.
India is set to release its third-quarter GDP report on Friday, while China will release purchasing managers index data on Saturday. Before that, industrial profit data from China is due on Wednesday.
In the U.S., the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation, the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, is to be released on November 27.
Australian shares hit record high
Australia's ASX 200 hit an all-time-high of 8452.1 points with a 0.7% rise on Monday, helped by gains in cyclical stocks such as banks and miners. The trade was underpinned by a global push into economically sensitive sectors, as investors bet on more expansionary policies under a Trump administration in the U.S..
In corporate news, Australia’s largest vehicle fleet management and leasing group SG Fleet Group Ltd (ASX:SGF) jumped as much as 24% after it confirmed that it is in discussions regarding a A$1.2 billion ($785 million) buyout offer from private equity group Pacific Equity Partners (PEP)
Australian inflation readings for October are also scheduled to be out on Wednesday.