Stock markets in Asia were forging higher Monday morning, building on solid gains the previous week as hopes for a U.S.-China trade continue to rise.
Chinese stocks were among the top performers in the region with the Shanghai Composite SHCOMP, +0.44% ahead nearly 1%, with large caps again leading the way. They’re up more than 1% after the broader market jumped some 5% to start April. Shenzhen 399106, -0.17% benchmarks are trailing, with the Composite Index up 0.8% and the startup-heavy ChiNext just 0.1% higher.
Alcohol maker Moutai 600519, +4.04% hit record highs after its 1Q update while peer 600779, +5.72% umps 6.5% as Diageo DEO, -0.09% builds its stake. Meanwhile, petrochemical stocks are sharply higher, boosted by a sector-wide crackdown amid a recent accident.
Hong Kong stocks were rising at a more moderate pace. The Hang Seng Index HSI, +0.46% was up 0.3% while the China Enterprises Index HSCEI, +0.81% is 0.9% higher. Insurers have started well, with Ping An 601318, +2.01% up more than 1.5% and at fresh record highs while AIA 1299, +0.50% has climbed some 1.25%. Developers Country Garden and China Overseas Land are up some 1.5%, as is internet heavyweight Tencent 0700, +1.01% . And oil major CNOOC 0883, +1.81% has climbed 2% as crude prices continue to hit 5-month highs
Two notable exceptions to the winners were New Zealand and Singapore. The former NZ50GR, -0.31% is set for a 4-day losing streak after a run of record highs, while STI, -0.17% enchmark is also down about 0.25% after 7-straight gains.
Japan’s Nikkei NIK, -0.08% , meanwhile, is little changed amid morning strength in the yen. Elsewhere, there are gains of about 0.5% in Australia and Taiwan, which had a 4-day weekend, is outperforming with the Taiex maintaining a 0.8% advance. S&P 500 futures have eased to session lows after Friday’s gains and are down 0.1%.
This story was compiled from Dow Jones Newswires reports.
Providing critical information for the U.S. trading day. Subscribe to MarketWatch's free Need to Know newsletter. Sign up here.
