SINGAPORE – Shares in Asia-Pacific rose in trading on Monday, with several markets in North Asia closed for lunar New Year holidays.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 1.5%, while the Topix index gained 0.95%. At the start of the session, the Nikkei surpassed 30,000 for the first time in more than 30 years, according to Refinitiv data.
Government data released on Monday showed the Japanese economy grew 12.7% annually between October and December last year. According to Reuters, the preliminary reading of gross domestic product in the fourth quarter was higher than economists ’average estimate of a 9.5% gain.
Kospi, from South Korea, also experienced significant gains as it jumped 1.5%. Stocks in Australia rose, with the S & P / ASX 200 about 1%.
MSCI’s broader Asia-Pacific stock index outside Japan traded up 0.6%.
Markets in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the United States close on Monday for holidays.
Oil prices jump
Oil prices were higher in the afternoon of business hours in Asia, with international benchmark futures on Brent crude up 1.79%, to $ 63.55 a barrel. U.S. crude futures gained 2.25% to $ 60.81 a barrel.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, stood at 90.319 after weakening earlier this month against 91.2.
The Japanese yen was trading at 105.09 per dollar, lower than levels below 104.8 against the green dollar seen last week. The Australian dollar stood at $ 0.7878 after rising last week from levels below $ 0.772.