Asian shares surged Monday after the release over the weekend of encouraging manufacturing data in China that suggest government stimulus efforts may be yielding results.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index added 1.6 per cent to 21,539.75, easing off earlier highs after newly released economic data showed conditions deteriorating.
The Shanghai Composite index jumped 2.3 per cent to 3,161.49 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 1.7 per cent to 29,530.19.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea’s Kospi climbed 1.2 per cent to 2,166.86 and the S&P ASX 200 rose 0.6 per cent in Australia to 6,217.40. India’s Sensex gained 0.8 per cent to 38,970.73.
Shares also rose in Taiwan, Singapore and Thailand. Indonesia’s benchmark fell, reports AP.
Stocks finished broadly higher Friday on Wall Street with the S&P 500 index up 0.7 per cent, to 2,834.40, a gain of 13.1 per cent so far this year.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8 per cent to 25,928.68. The Nasdaq composite surged 0.8 per cent to 7,729.32 and the Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks picked up 0.3 per cent, to 1,539.74.
The Dow ended the quarter with an 11.2 per cent gain, while the Nasdaq is up 16.5 per cent. The Russell 2000 is 14.2 per cent higher this year.
Benchmark US crude picked up 35 cents to $60.49 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It rose 1.4 per cent to settle at $60.14 a barrel on Friday.
Brent crude, used to price international oils, advanced 53 cents to $68.11 per barrel after closing 0.8 per cent higher Friday at $68.39 a barrel.
The dollar rose to 111.05 Japanese yen from 110.85 yen on Friday. The euro strengthened to $1.1234 from $1.1219.
The British pound slipped to $1.3034 from $1.3039 after lawmakers on Friday rejected for the third time Prime Minister Theresa May’s plan to leave the European Union.