Asian stocks rose on Monday as markets in the region followed Wall Street higher on the heels of a rally in US regional banks.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong rose 0.8 percent, while the CSI 300 Index of shares listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen rose 1 percent in China. The Australian S & P / ASX 200 rose 0.7 percent, while the Japanese Topix index broke ranks with the rest of the region, falling 0.3 percent.
The gains in Asia came after a rebound last weekend in US bank stocks, which were hit earlier by concerns about the collapse of First Republic Bank. The KBW regional index of banks rose 4.7 percent on Friday, while the broader S&P 500 index rose 1.9 percent, and the technology-focused Nasdaq Composite index added 2.3 percent.
But analysts were pessimistic that markets in Asia would push higher without improving economic data from China or signs that the US Federal Reserve may start cutting interest rates.
said Dickie Wong, head of research at Kingston Collateral. “Even Wall Street’s gains on Friday were mainly driven by regional banks, so I obviously don’t see much of an upside in the near term.”
Futures led the S&P 500 down 0.1 percent in trading on Wall Street Monday. Markets in London are closed for a national holiday.
Elsewhere in the markets, Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, rose 0.1 percent to $75.36 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate rose 0.1 percent at $71.43.
In government bond markets, yields eased slightly as bond prices rose after Friday’s sell-off, with the 10-year US Treasury yield down 0.01 percentage point at 3.424 percent in Asian trading Monday.