South Korea stocks surged on Monday after the country re-imposed a ban on short selling, while most Asia-Pacific markets took heart from a soft U.S. jobs report that helped reduce interest rate expectations.
In Japan, markets returned from a long weekend in a big way, with the Nikkei 225 sprinting 758.59 points, or 2.4%, to 32,708.48.
Japan’s business activity expanded in October but at its softest pace this year, according to a private survey.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index gathered 302.47 points, or 1.7%, to 17,966.59.
Financial authorities in South Korea said short selling will be banned until the end of June 2024. Short selling is when a trader sells borrowed shares to buy back at a lower price and pocket the difference. Korean stocks enjoyed their best trading day since March 2020.
In other markets
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 jumped 48.47 points, or 1.4%, to 3,632.16.
In Taiwan, the Taiex gained 141.71 points, or 0.9%, to 16,649.36.
In Korea, the Kospi index climbed 134.03 points, or 5.7%, to 2,502.37.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index gained 36.87 points, or 1.2%, to 3,180.53.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 added 142.31 points, or 1.3%, to 11,261.22.
In Australia, the ASX 200 picked up 19.18 points, or 0.3%, to 6,997.38.
