(Bloomberg) — Asian equities were ahead of gains in major markets on Monday after Wall Street snapped a five-day losing streak, helped by renewed demand for major technology stocks.
Read More from Bloomberg
Equity futures for Australia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore all edged higher, while those in Japan fell to partly reflect a stronger yen. The S&P 500 ended Friday up 1.3%, while the Nasdaq 100 rose 1.7%, ending a selloff that had wiped more than a trillion dollars from the US equity market.
The dollar was mixed against major currencies early on Monday, after an index of greenback strength fell on Friday for the first time in eight sessions. The yen held a small rally against the US currency from the end of 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.
The demand for stocks signals a renewed risk appetite among investors after declines in last year's final trading sessions extended into 2025. The selling pressure has now drawn some investors back to some of the dominant themes that powered markets in 2024, including artificial intelligence.
In Asia, technology stocks will be in focus given the moves in New York trading on Friday. Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., which is a partner in the assembly of Nvidia Corp., reported. and Apple Inc. also known as Foxconn, better than expected revenue over the weekend. The results indicate that demand for AI infrastructure remains robust.
In South Korea, a court rejected an appeal by Yoon Suk Yeol's lawyers against an arrest warrant for the impeached president, according to a local media report on Sunday.
In Asia, data due on Monday include China's Caixin services and composite PMI, Thai inflation and industrial production for Vietnam. Elsewhere, Israel's central bank will deliver an interest rate decision, while data for release includes German inflation, US factory orders and S&P Global services and composite PMI.
Feeding comments
In the United States, Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook will speak at a conference on law and microeconomics at the University of Michigan. Her colleague Tom Barkin, President of the Richmond Fed, suggested on Friday that his preference was to keep rates restrictive for longer. The comments, and data showing the US economy remains strong, underline the challenge investors face in interpreting the path ahead for US interest rates States after the hawkish pivot of Fed Chairman Jerome Powell in December.