Asia-Pacific markets traded higher Monday, after artificial intelligence valuation concerns fueled declines in markets across the region last week.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 regained 635.39 points, or 1.3%, to end the first session of the week at 50,911.76.
On Monday, minutes from the Bank of Japan’s October meeting revealed that the BOJ seemed more inclined toward a near-term rate hike, saying that “it is likely that conditions for taking a further step toward the normalization of the policy interest rate have almost been met.”
However, the BOJ also said there were other factors to consider, such as the need to examine to what extent the “underlying inflation rate has become entrenched.”
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng rebuilt 407.23 points, or 1.6%, to 26,241.83.
South Korea’s Kospi climbed, led by banks and insurance stocks. Heavyweights on the Kospi index like Samsung Electronics vaulted 2.76% and SK Hynix posted gains of 4.48%.
Other top gainers also included SK Inc, the holding company of South Korea’s second largest chaebol — or family-run conglomerate — SK Group, which was up about 9.29%. GS Holdings, which is in the energy, retail and construction sectors and also one of the country’s largest chaebols, advanced 11.79%.
CHINA
The CSI 300 in Shanghai recovered 16.26 points, or 0.4%, to 4,695.05.
Investors in Asia are also parsing October inflation data from China over the weekend, which came in above expectations.
Headline consumer inflation was at 0.2% year on year, compared to expectations of zero growth from economists polled by Reuters. Wholesale inflation saw a softer-than-expected drop of 2.1% year on year, against the expected 2.2% decline.
In other markets
In Korea, the Kospi hiked 119.48 points, or 3%, to 4,073.24
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index faded 4.11 points, or 0.1%, to 4,488.13
In Taiwan, the Taiex jumped 218.10 points, or 0.8%, to 27,869.51
In Australia, the ASX 200 climbed 66.23 points, or 0.8%, to 8,835.88.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 gained 18.27 points, or 0.1%, to 13,617.48.
