Asia report: Markets higher after Wall Street surge

Markets in Asia finished mostly higher on Monday, following solid gains from US bourses on Friday, with stocks in mainland China leading the charge.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was ahead 1.19% at 22,153.63, as the yen strengthened 0.07% on the dollar to last trade at JPY 106.81.

Carmakers, financial plays and technology stocks were the big winners in Tokyo, with Fast Retailing and SoftBank among the standouts, rising 1.52% and 1.73% respectively.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite added 1.25% to 3,330.25, and the smaller, technology-heavy Shenzhen Composite leapt 2.25% higher to close at 1,815.02.

In some of the more bizarre moves of the day, companies featuring the word ‘emperor’ in their names were reportedly boosted by the Communist Party’s decision to end its two-term limit on presidencies.

Shenzhen Emperor Technology finished the day up 7.36%.

South Korea’s Kospi finished up 0.25% at 2,457.65, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong grew 0.74% to settle at 31,498.60.

On the technology front in Seoul, Samsung Electronics eked out gains of 0.25% after taking the wraps off its latest Galaxy S9 smartphone, while rival chipmaker SK Hynix gained 0.26%.

Oil prices fell, with Brent crude last down 0.16% at $67.20 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate off 0.08% at $63.50.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 added 0.71% to 6,042.20, led higher by the hefty financials sector, which rose 1.16%, while the energy subindex advanced 0.74%.

BlueScope Steel was up 2.26%, after it reported a 23% improvement in first-half net profit to AUD 441.2m, while QBE Insurance Group shares lost 3.26%.

That company posted a net loss of $1.25bn, compared to the $844m profit it managed a year ago.

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 rose 0.5% to 8,340.53, led higher for a second session by retirement housebuilder Summerset, which added 6.4%.

The company beat earnings guidance on Friday, in stark contrast to its rival Metlifecare, which fell short of market forecasts.

Metlifecare shares were down 4.6% in Wellington.

Both of the down under dollars were stronger on the greenback, with the Aussie last ahead 0.2% at AUD 1.2729 and the Kiwi advancing 0.41% to NZD 1.3652.