Tokyo — Asia stocks hovered near four-month highs on Monday after a mixed performance on Wall Street at the close of last week, while the dollar firmed against the yen following strong US job and manufacturing data. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was almost flat. It had scaled a four-month peak on Friday along with a surge in its global peers. Trade was subdued, with many of the region’s markets closed for the Lunar New Year. China’s financial markets are closed all week, while those in South Korea are shut until Thursday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, which is trading for only half a day, edged up 0.2%. Japan’s Nikkei added 0.5%. On Wall Street on Friday optimism from a surge in January US job growth was offset by a weaker-than-expected outlook from Amazon that battered retail stocks. The Dow nudged up 0.26% while the Nasdaq shed 0.25%. “Key points for the markets this week will be how the remaining US corporate earnings releases turn out, and whether they are ...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.