Asian markets settled mostly higher on Monday, tracking a sharp drop in crude oil prices following reports of continued talks between Iranian and Qatari officials aimed at ending the conflict in Middle East, despite fears of renewed US military action against Iran. Meanwhile, private surveys in October showed that factory activity across major Asian economies continued to expand, though growth slowed in key chip-exporting countries such as Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. South Korea’s Kospi rallied, buoyed by strong institutional buying and a sharp rebound in semiconductor shares after data showed the country's exports surged 93.7% year-on-year to a record $115.3 billion in October. However, Japanese markets ended slightly lower following a global technology sell-off triggered by disappointing quarterly results from Intel and Amazon. Traders also shifted their focus on this week's US midterm elections, which will determine control of US Congress.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 3,638.03 | 39.01 | 1.08 |
Hang Seng | 23,393.32 | 98.90 | 0.42 |
Jakarta Composite | 5,096.83 | 39.78 | 0.79 |
KLSE Composite | 1,619.51 | 3.91 | 0.24 |
Nikkei 225 | 63,081.86 | -208.25 | -0.33 |
Straits Times | 5,303.83 | -72.91 | -1.36 |
KOSPI Composite | 5,859.08 | 128.34 | 2.24 |
Taiwan Weighted | 44,920.14 | -291.69 | -0.65 |