Global stocks were broadly higher Monday, with investors in Asia gearing up for an eventful week.
The Nikkei 225 leaped 124.49 points, or 0.6%, to 20,067.75
The Hang Seng Index gained 298.06 points, or 1.2%, to 25,924.55
In Japan, economists had expected a modest trade surplus for May. Instead, the country reported its first deficit since January. A finance ministry official noted it wasn’t uncommon for Japan to post a deficit in May because many manufacturers shut down factories during the "Golden Week" holidays, which limits exports.
Japan’s exports jumped 14.9% for May from a year earlier, the biggest rise since January 2015, marking the sixth consecutive month of increases, the government said Monday. Still, the figure came in lower than an 18.2% increase expected by economists polled by The Wall Street Journal.
Shares of Japanese auto-parts maker Takata were ask-only, meaning no shares have traded because sell orders have overwhelmed buys.
The company is in the final stages of preparing to file for bankruptcy protection to address mounting liabilities from its rupture-prone air bags. The company’s shares are down 44% this year.
Among individual stocks in Asia, Mitsubishi Motors rose 1.5% and Sony added 3.7%.
CHINA
In China, shares started the week higher, helped by still-resilient housing prices and the central bank’s continued liquidity injections.
The CSI 300 regained 34.91 points, or 1%, to 3,553.67
Home prices in China rose 9.7% from a year earlier in May, versus April’s 9.9% gain. Meanwhile, the People’s Bank of China pumped a further 110 billion yuan ($16.2 billion U.S.) into money markets to boost liquidity, following Friday’s 250-billion-yuan injection. Stock gains were across the board but led by property, consumer goods and defense sectors.
Among major events, investors will be focused on the start of formal Brexit negotiations and a decision on whether to include China’s domestically-traded A-shares in MSCI’s emerging-market index, which is widely followed.
In other markets
In Taiwan, the Taiex index hiked 93.87 points, or 0.9%, to 10,250.60
In Korea, the Kospi index edged up 9.07 points, or 0.4%, to 2,370.90
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index raised itself 15.74 points, or 0.5%, to 3,247.18
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 strengthened 39.28 points, or 0.5%, to 7,592.03
In Australia, the ASX 200 added 31.14 points, or 0.5%, to 5,805.17
