Asian Markets Follow Wall Street's Upbeat Lead
Asian shares experienced broad gains on Monday, while U.S. futures also advanced, building on an optimistic conclusion to last week's trading on Wall Street. This positive momentum comes after a period of significant market drama, with investors now turning their attention to key economic indicators and corporate performances.
Regional Market Performance Highlights
Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng index rose 1.3% to 25,550.89, receiving substantial support from e-commerce titan Alibaba, which surged 4.7% following reports of strong demand for its new Qwen AI application. The company is scheduled to announce its earnings on Tuesday, with markets watching closely for further positive developments.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 demonstrated solid performance, gaining 1.1% to reach 8,507.60. In South Korea, the Kospi climbed as technology shares stabilised following several days of volatility driven by concerns about whether the artificial intelligence investment frenzy can be sustained. Taiwan's Taiex added 0.4%, while India's Sensex edged 0.1% higher.
The Shanghai Composite index was one of the few regional markets to decline, falling 0.3% to 3,821.68. Markets in Japan remained closed for a national holiday.
US Market Outlook and Economic Focus
Futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.6%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures advanced 0.3%. This week, U.S. markets will observe the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, followed by the crucial Black Friday and Cyber Monday retail events that often set the tone for the holiday shopping season.
Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management highlighted the shifting focus for traders, noting that after last week's turbulence surrounding AI and Nvidia, attention is turning to "the backbone of U.S. growth, the consumer, whose spending still drives two-thirds of GDP." He emphasised that in the data vacuum created by the recent six-week U.S. government shutdown, even minor indicators of holiday shopping activity become disproportionately significant for market analysis.
On Friday, Wall Street had posted strong gains, with the S&P 500 climbing 1% to 6,602.99, the Dow advancing 1.1% to 46,245.41, and the Nasdaq composite rising 0.9% to 22,273.08. Nearly 90% of S&P 500 stocks participated in the upward movement, providing a fitting conclusion to a week that left the index just 4.2% below its record high.
Federal Reserve Speculation and Currency Movements
Markets found encouragement from comments by Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams, who indicated he sees "room for a further adjustment" to interest rates. This boosted trader expectations for a December rate cut, with the probability jumping to nearly 72% from 39% just a day earlier, according to CME Group data.
In the bond market, Treasury yields eased on Friday amid growing expectations for Federal Reserve action. The yield on the 10-year Treasury declined to 4.06% from 4.10% the previous day.
In early Monday trading, the U.S. dollar strengthened against the Japanese yen, rising to 156.65 yen from 156.47 yen. The euro showed minimal movement, edging to $1.1519 from $1.1516.
Commodity and Cryptocurrency Updates
In commodity markets, U.S. benchmark crude oil declined by 6 cents to $58.00 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international standard, dropped 4 cents to $61.90 per barrel.
Bitcoin registered a 3.2% increase to $87,350, recovering from a Friday plunge that saw it briefly fall below $81,000 before stabilising around $85,000. Despite this recovery, the cryptocurrency remains significantly below its recent peak of nearly $125,000 last month, returning to levels last seen in April during market turbulence triggered by President Donald Trump's tariff increases.
