Chinese stocks are up by 2%
Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose on Monday, because investors are waiting for economic data later this week. This includes minutes from the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).
The People’s Bank of China didn’t change the 1-year and 5-year key lending rates.
The CSI 300, which tracks shares of Shanghai and Shenzhen’s largest listed companies, surged 2,456%.
Shenzhen Component increased 2.032% to 11,953.13, while Shanghai Composite increased 2.07% to 3,290.35. The Hang Seng Index sa an increase of 0.86% in the last hour of trading, while the Hang Seng Tech Index gained 1.33%.
In South Korea, the Kospi ended the day slightly higher at 2,453.14, while defense stocks were mixed after North Korea fired missiles toward its eastern waters.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was fractionally higher at 27,531.93, with the Topix up 0.38% to close at 1,999.72, as investors awaited Bank of Japan Governor-designate Kazuo Ueda’s appearance in parliament on Friday.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 closed marginally higher at 7,351.4 as Reserve Bank of Australia meeting minutes are scheduled to be released on Tuesday.
Stocks ended mixed on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining more than 100 points. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both fell. US markets won’t operate for President’s Day.
Chinese stocks were higher on Monday afternoon
Shares in China Vanke rose 2.77% in Shenzhen, while China Merchants Shekou Industrial Zone rose 3.33%. Chinese developer Gemdale also gained 3.25%.
The Hang Seng Mainland Properties Index also rose 2.98%, while the SSE Banks Index rose 2.28%.
Malaysia recorded a trade surplus for the 33rd consecutive month in January 2023, amounting to RM18.3 billion.
That was slightly lower than expectations, which had predicted a $20.23 billion surplus.
The country’s statistics department said Malaysia’s exports in January rose 1.63% on a year-on-year basis to RM112.83 billion, while imports also recorded a 2.38% increase to RM94.73 billion in the same period.
Total trade in Malaysia rose 1.95% to RM207.53 billion from RM203.63 billion in January 2022.
The ringgit weakened slightly against the US dollar, trading at 4.4276 after the release of data.
