SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific rose in Monday morning trade as investors await the release of Chinese economic data.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.38% in early trade while the Topix index advanced 0.62%. South Korea’s Kospi edged 0.36% higher.
Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.37%.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.17% higher.
Looking ahead, a slew of Chinese economic data, including the country’s industrial production and retail sales for April, is expected to be out at 10:00 a.m. HK/SIN on Monday.
Currencies and oil
Meanwhile, investors also monitored the price of bitcoin after Tesla CEO Elon Musk implied in a Twitter exchange Sunday that the electric vehicle maker sold or may sell the rest of its holdings in the cryptocurrency.
The price of bitcoin was at $46,276.64, as of 8:04 p.m. ET, according to data from Coin Metrics.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 90.285 after a recent decline from above 90.8.
The Japanese yen traded at 109.43 per dollar, having weakened last week from levels below 109 against the greenback. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7773, following last week’s decline from levels above $0.78.
Oil prices were higher in the morning of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures up 0.16% to $68.82 per barrel. U.S. crude futures advanced 0.12% to $65.45 per barrel.
Here’s a look at what’s on tap:
- China: Fixed asset investment, industrial production and retail sales data for April at 10:00 a.m. HK/SIN
Source: CNBC