Asian shares neared nine-month highs on Monday after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he hoped U.S.-China trade talks were approaching a final lap, while strong Chinese export and bank loan data boosted confidence in the global economy.
Asian Shares
- MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan climbed 0.4 percent.
- Chinese shares were buoyant, with the blue-chip CSI300 index rising 0.6 percent.
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.3 percent.
- South Korea’s KOSPI rose 0.5 percent.
- Japan’s Nikkei also joined the party, gaining 1.4 percent to close at its highest since early December.
Currency Markets
- The Australian dollar, which is often used as a proxy for China plays, was a tad softer at $0.7173.
- The euro was a tad firmer at $1.1309.
Commodities
- Brent breaking through the $70 threshold.
- Brent crude oil futures was last off 23 cents at $71.32
- Crude futures, the U.S. benchmark, eased 33 cents to $63.56.