Highlights
- ASX 200 closes 0.1% higher at 9,030
- Nikkei jumps more than 3%
- Taiwan surges almost 6%
- China producer prices rise 5.7%
Asian markets rebound as tech stocks recover
Asian markets were mostly higher on Monday as technology stocks rebounded from last week’s heavy sell-off, while Australian shares finished almost unchanged after miners offset weakness in the banks.
ASX recovers from session low
The S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.1% higher at 9,029.7, recovering from an intraday low of 8,968.5 as mining stocks strengthened through the session.
Banks provided the main drag, with ANZ falling despite reporting full-year cash profit of A$7.59 billion, while property stocks also remained under pressure following last week’s Reserve Bank rate rise.
Mining stocks performed better, supported by gains in BHP and other large resources companies, while stronger gold prices lifted parts of the precious metals sector.
Japan and Taiwan lead rebound
Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped more than 3% in afternoon trading, clawing back part of Friday’s near-6% fall as semiconductor and technology stocks recovered.
Taiwan’s Taiex delivered the strongest performance in the region, surging about 5.7% to around 42,000 as investors returned to chipmakers following last week’s sharp AI-related sell-off.
South Korea’s KOSPI was also higher, recovering further after plunging more than 6% on Friday.
China markets edge higher
Hong Kong and mainland Chinese shares traded modestly higher as investors digested fresh inflation data.
China’s consumer price index rose 0.7% year on year in October, slowing from 0.9% in September, while core inflation eased to 0.8%.
Producer prices increased 5.7% from a year earlier and 0.7% month on month, reflecting higher energy and raw-material costs.
Wall Street rebound supports sentiment
Friday’s partial recovery on Wall Street provided a more positive lead after Thursday’s technology rout.
The S&P 500 rose 0.3% to 7,376.86 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.1% to 24,579.42, while the Dow Jones slipped 0.5% to 51,285.73.
Nvidia gained 2.8%, although the Nasdaq still lost 3.4% across the week and the S&P 500 fell 2.7%.
Gold strengthens as oil eases
Spot gold climbed around 1.5% to US$4,127 an ounce during Asian trade as investors retained some defensive exposure.
Brent crude eased around 0.7% to US$97.66 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate traded near US$90.62.
The Australian dollar strengthened to around US$0.69 after recent weakness, while markets continued to assess whether resilient US employment data could increase the likelihood of another Federal Reserve rate rise.
