Share

Most Asian markets rise after Wall St rally

Hong Kong - Most Asia markets rose on Monday as investors built on last week's rally, with another healthy lead from Wall Street providing support, but oil prices retreated from their three-and-a-half-year highs.

Malaysia's ringgit sank almost 1% but stocks were up 0.5% in Kuala Lumpur as trading resumed after last week's general election that saw a shock win for 92-year-old former premier Mahathir Mohamad.

While analysts had expected a sharp drop in equities, they said Mahathir had soothed many concerns by giving key posts to people seen as market-friendly.

"We have turned mildly positive over the short term," Danny Wong, chief executive officer at Areca Capital, told Bloomberg News.

"Most of the local funds have turned slightly positive with more clarity from Mahathir after he announced the 10 key ministries plus an elder council. Confidence is returning."

Investors will be keeping a close eye on China-US trade talks this week, with President Xi Jinping's top economics official and Vice Premier Liu He visiting Washington after a high-level meeting in Beijing earlier in May ended without any agreement.

Hopes that the two sides can avert a trade war were boosted Sunday when Donald Trump said he was working with Xi to prevent telecom giant ZTE from going out of business after it was hit by a US technology sales ban.

He tweeted that he had asked officials to come up with a rescue plan, saying too many jobs were at risk, seeming to offer an olive branch.

Oil prices retreat

Hong Kong led gains in Asia on Monday, surging 1.4%, while Shanghai added 0.4%.

Tokyo ended the morning up 0.2%, with Fujifilm climbing more than 1%t after US photocopier and printer maker Xerox pulled out of a $6.1bn merger deal. Analysts said the move was welcomed by traders who thought the deal was not good for Fujifilm.

Sydney climbed 0.3% and Wellington gained 0.2% while Taipei piled on 0.8%.

However, Seoul and Singapore were in negative territory.

Oil prices retreated, extending Friday's losses, after reaching highs not seen since November 2014 in response to Trump's decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal.

A pick-up in demand, economic uncertainty in major producer Venezuela and the ongoing output cap by OPEC and Russia are keeping the commodity buoyant.

However Stephen Innes, head of Asia-Pacific trading at OANDA, warned: "The one possible concern is the developing indications that point Saudi Arabia alleviating the effect of the sanctions by increasing output to counter the Iran disruption.

"That also raises the spectre that other OPEC countries will follow suit, which could put the current... supply deal in jeopardy."

On currency markets the dollar dipped against its main peers but with US interest rates expected to rise at least twice more this year, analysts are tipping it to strengthen further.

"Given the dovish display by other central banks, the lonely Federal Reserve board appears to be the last man standing as speculation about interest rate rises and policy normalisation in the eurozone, Japan and Britain get kicked down the road," Innes said.

* Sign up to Fin24's top news in your inbox: SUBSCRIBE TO FIN24 NEWSLETTER

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.87
+0.3%
Rand - Pound
23.85
+0.2%
Rand - Euro
20.38
+0.2%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.31
+0.2%
Rand - Yen
0.12
+0.2%
Platinum
908.05
0.0%
Palladium
1,014.94
0.0%
Gold
2,232.75
-0.0%
Silver
24.95
-0.1%
Brent Crude
87.00
+1.8%
Top 40
68,346
0.0%
All Share
74,536
0.0%
Resource 10
57,251
0.0%
Industrial 25
103,936
0.0%
Financial 15
16,502
0.0%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders