Asia-Pacific markets mostly climbed on Monday, led by Japan’s Nikkei 225 rising 2% as investors look ahead to a week of central bank decisions from around the region.
The gains on the Nikkei were powered by financials and consumer cyclical stocks, with names like Mizuho Financial Group and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group among top gainers on the index.
The yen strengthened 0.16% to trade at 148.46 after hitting its weakest level in over two months earlier in the session. The dollar gained after a strong U.S. jobs report on Friday, which also reduced expectations that the Federal Reserve would need another 50-basis-pont rate cut.
The yen has also been under pressure after new Japan Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said he doesn’t “think the environment is ready for an additional rate hike” from the Bank of Japan.
Three central banks are set to release their interest rate decisions this week, namely the Bank of Korea, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and the Reserve Bank of India.
Economists polled by Reuters expect the BOK and RBNZ to cut rates, while the RBI will hold.
The BOK on Friday is expected to lower its benchmark interest rate to 3.25% from 3.5%, while the RBNZ is expected to enact a 50-basis-point cut to 4.75% on Wednesday.
Back in August, the RBNZ surprised economists after it lowered its policy rate to 5.25% from 5.5%.
South Korea’s Kospi reversed losses and rose 0.63%, while the small-cap Kosdaq was up 1.17%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.6%.
However, Hong Kong Hang Seng index climbed 0.94%, while mainland China’s markets remained closed for the Golden Week holiday and will return to trade on Tuesday.
Over in the U.S, stocks advanced on Friday after a stronger-than-expected jobs report gave investors confidence around the health of the economy.
Data showed nonfarm payrolls grew by 254,000 jobs in September, far outpacing the forecasted gain of 150,000 from economists polled by Dow Jones. The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1% despite expectations for it to hold steady at 4.2%.
The S&P 500 rose 0.9%, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.22%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.81% to notch an all-time closing high of 42,352.75.
—CNBC’s Lisa Kailai Han and Alex Harring contributed to this report.
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