BANGKOK — Asian shares advanced early Monday after U.S. stock indexes rallied to close out their best week in two months, while U.S. futures and oil prices were little changed.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 2.3% to 20,041.09 after China’s central bank kept its key lending rates unchanged and the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.5% at 3,257.24.
A Hong Kong court extended a deadline for troubled property developer Country Garden to reach an agreement with its creditors until next month in the latest slow step toward recovery from a downturn in the real estate industry.
Sentiment also was helped by upbeat comments by U.S. and Chinese officials ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration later Monday. Pledges by both sides to work to improve relations may have alleviated some concerns over trade tensions that have built up as businesses brace for a possible increase in tariffs on Chinese exports to the U.S.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index climbed 1.2% to 38,914.60. The dollar slipped against the Japanese yen, trading at 156.02 yen, down from 156.31 yen. Expectations are building that Japan’s central bank might raise its key interest rate in a monetary policy meeting later this week. That tends to boost the value of the yen versus the dollar.
The euro rose to $1.0304 from $1.0281.
In South Korea, the Kospi was nearly flat at 2,524.12, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.5% to 8,354.90.
Taiwan’s Taiex picked up 0.5% and India’s Sensex edged 0.2% higher. Bangkok’s SET gained 0.3%.
In other dealings early Monday, U.S. benchmark crude oil shed 2 cents to $77.37 per barrel and Brent crude, the international standard, gave up 13 cents to $80.66 per barrel.
On Friday, the S&P 500 climbed 1% to 5,996.66, clinching its first winning week in the last three. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8% to 43,487.83, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 1.5% to 19,630.20.
SLB helped lead the market after the provider oilfield services delivered bigger profit and revenues for the end of 2024 than analysts expected. It jumped 6.1% after it also raised its dividend by 3.6% and said it’s returning $2.3 billion to its investors by buying back its own stock.
All the Big Tech companies in what’s come to be known as the “ Magnificent Seven ” rose: Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla. Because they’re so massive in size, their movements carry more weight on the S&P 500 and other indexes than other stocks.
Such shares have been under pressure recently because of criticism their prices may have shot too high after leading the market for so many years. Such worries grew after Treasury yields jumped in the bond market. Higher yields hurt prices for all kinds of investments, particularly those seen as the most expensive.
But stocks broadly got a lift this week from an encouraging report on U.S. inflation, which raised hopes that the Federal Reserve may deliver more cuts to interest rates this year. More such cuts, which began in September, would ease the brakes off the economy and boost prices for investments, though they can also give inflation more fuel.
Wall Street has been lurching down and up in recent weeks as economic reports pushed traders to revamp their expectations about what the Fed will do with rates. Lower worries about inflation have sent Treasury yields down and stocks up, while worsening worries about inflation have triggered the opposite reaction.
Treasury yields eased sharply this past week, and the 10-year Treasury yield eased further on Friday. It’s at 4.61%, down from 4.62% late Thursday and from 4.76% a week earlier.
Truist Financial rose 5.9% Friday after joining the list of banks to report better profits for the end of 2024 than analysts expected. The company said its average deposits rose 1.5% during the quarter, and it followed bigger-than-expected profit reports from large rivals like Wells Fargo, Citigroup and others.
J.B. Hunt Transport Services dropped 7.4% for the biggest loss in the S&P 500 after falling short of analysts’ expectations for profit in the latest quarter. Higher equipment and insurance-related costs helped drag on its results.
