Asian stocks are reporting gains on the first trading day of the week as Trump’s decision to temporarily end a 35-day-long US government shutdown put a bid under the US stocks on Friday.
Both the Shanghai Composite index and the Hang Seng have gained 0.32 percent. Further, South Korea’s Kospi is up 0.14 percent. Australia’s stock market is closed for a public holiday, while Japan’s Nikkei is down 0.4 percent, possibly due to JPY strength.
US shares finished the week higher Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) rising 184 points, as corporate earnings bolstered confidence in the economy and President Donald Trump agreed to re-open the government on an interim basis without getting the $5.7 billion he had demanded from Congress for a border wall.
In the FX markets, GBP/USD is trading near the three-month high of 1.3218 set on Friday, possibly on the back of Brexit optimism. Meanwhile, USD/JPY is trading on the defensive at 109.48, having failed to take out the psychological hurdle of 110.00 last week.
In the commodity markets, oil benchmarks fell 0.55 percent, courtesy of oversupply fears.
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