Asia-Pacific rose Monday, tracking Wall Street gains after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled that the central bank could begin easing monetary policy next month in his widely anticipated annual speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 benchmark rose 0.69%, while the broader Topix index added 0.27%.
In South Korea, the Kospi index increased by 0.67%, while the small-cap Kosdaq advanced 1.91%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 benchmark pared earlier gains to 0.27%, after crossing the 9,000 threshold earlier in the session.
Mainland China’s CSI 300 climbed 1.39%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.21%.
Elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific, market watchers are awaiting Singapore’s consumer price index reading for July. Economists polled by Reuters expect a 0.6% rise year over year, consistent with the month before.
U.S. equity futures were little changed in early Asia hours, as investors await artificial intelligence darling Nvidia‘s earnings.
Last Friday, the blue-chip Dow soared 846.24 points, or 1.89%, to a record level of 45,631.74.
Meanwhile, the broad market S&P 500 rose 1.52% to 6,466.91, while its session high was just three points shy of its record. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 1.88%, ending the session at 21,496.53.
— CNBC’s Tanaya Macheel contributed to this report.
Source: CNBC