On Monday, there was a rise in shares of Asia-Pacific, as investors were assessing the risks of recession and inflation. Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that Russia had defaulted on its foreign currency debt, which had last happened more than a century ago. The foreign reserves of the Russian central bank are still frozen.
Indexes rise
There was a 2.35% gain in the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong, which reached 22,229.52 for the day. It had been trading at a high of more than 3% during the session. There was also a 4.71% rise in the Hang Seng Tech index. This was because shares of Alibaba in the city climbed by 3.69%, while a 3.48% gain was also recorded in Meituan.
There was also a rise in mainland Chinese markets. There was a 0.88% rise in the Shanghai Composite index, which saw it reach 3,379.19, and a 1.1% increase in the Shenzhen Component, which closed the day at 12,825.57.
There was a 1.43% increase in the Nikkei 225 index in Japan, as it closed the day at 26,871.27. There was also a 1.11% rise in the Topix index, which took it to 1,887.42. A gain of almost 2% was also recorded in Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index, which saw it reach 6,706.
There was a 1.49% gain in the South Korean Kospi index, which ended the session at 2,401.92. Likewise, a 2.71% gain was recorded in the Kosdaq which took it to 770.6. There was also a 1.72% increase in the MSCI’s index of Asia-Pacific shares.
Future plans
The G-7 summit saw world leaders, including US President Joe Biden, come together to announce an infrastructure program worth $600 billion. The aim of the program is to focus on important areas, such as building communication and information technology networks and developing healthcare systems. There was a 1.99% increase in Jamie Hardie Industries, a construction materials firm listed in Australia. There was also a 2.54% rise in Boral.
As far as company news is concerned, Trip.com is scheduled to release its results for the first quarter in the US on Monday after the markets close. There was a 6.58% increase in the company’s shares listed in Hong Kong. The Purchasing Managers’ Index data for Japan and China is due this week.
Oil and currencies
Oil futures did not register much change during the afternoon trading session in Asia. US crude futures were trading at $107.61 a barrel, while a 0.19% rise was recorded in benchmark Brent crude futures.
As for the US dollar, its index that tracks the value of the greenback against a basket of its peers, was valued at 103.850. The Japanese yen was able to strengthen against the US dollar, as it was trading at a value of 135.04. Last week, the currency had declined to low of 136. The Australian dollar was also trading at a value of $0.6935.
Last week, markets in the US had closed on a positive note, as weekly gains were recorded and they are expected to extend the gains this week.