Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading up in the early deals on Monday, following the modest gains on Wall Street Friday amid optimism that the US Federal Reserve may not raise interest rates until early 2016. Higher commodity prices also boosted investor sentiment. The Chinese stocks are rallying this session on the back of higher oil prices which continues to boost the energy stocks. Moreover, PBOC (People’s Bank of China) deputy governor’s comments that the country’s stock market correction is almost over, also added to the gains on the indices. Among the other Asian markets, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Indonesia, and Singapore are up with modest gains. Bucking the trend, Malaysia is in negative territory and the markets in Japan are closed on Monday in observance of Health and Sports Day.
Hang Seng surged 304.63 points or 1.36% to 22,763.43, KOSPI Index added 3.20 points or 0.16% to 2,022.73, Taiwan Weighted jumped 104.22 points or 1.23% to 8,550.18, Shanghai Composite strengthened 107.47 points or 3.38% to 3,290.62, Straits Times increased 27.48 points or 0.92% to 3,025.98, and Jakarta Composite was up by 36.90 points or 0.80% to 4,626.24.
On the flip side, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was down by 1.72 points or 0.10% to 1,704.82.