SINGAPORE — Stocks in Asia-Pacific rose in Monday trade as investors continue to monitor the situation surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.
South Korea’s Kospi led gains among the region’s major markets advanced 1.05%. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 nudged 0.37% higher while the Topix index gained 0.19%.
Shares in Australia edged higher, with the S&P/ASX 200 up 0.33%.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares excluding Japan traded 0.1% higher.
Amid the pandemic, China surpassed the U.S. as the world’s largest recipient of foreign direct investment, according to a report released Sunday from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
China brought in $163 billion in inflows last year, compared to $134 billion attracted by the U.S., according to the report.
Developments around Covid-19 are likely to be watched by investors, as the world races to adapt against the mutating coronavirus which has produced a number of potentially more infectious variants.
Globally, more than 99 million people have been infected by Covid-19 and at least 2,127,206 lives have been taken, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Currencies and oil
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 90.205 after seeing a recent decline from levels above 90.6.
The Japanese yen traded at 103.80 per dollar following levels below 103.5 against the greenback seen last week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7717, off levels above $0.776 seen last week.
Oil prices were lower in the morning of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures down 0.16% to $55.32 per barrel. U.S. crude futures dipped slightly to $52.25 per barrel.
Source: CNBC