BANGKOK (AP) — Shares climbed in Asia on Monday, tracking last week’s gains on Wall Street, and analysts said investors were viewing President-elect Donald Trump’s choice of billionaire investor Scott Bessent as his nominee for Treasury secretary as a relatively market-friendly choice.
Bitcoin fell slightly and oil prices also declined, while U.S. futures advanced.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index gained 1.3% to 38,780.14 while the Kospi in Seoul rose 1.3% to 2,534.34. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 picked up 0.3% to 8,417.60.
In China, shares fell further, with the Shanghai Composite index giving up 0.4% to 3,253.28 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong falling 0.3% to 19,172.07.
China’s central bank kept the interest rate on the one-year medium-term lending facility unchanged at 2%.
Shares in technology companies saw big declines, with online shopping platform Meituan falling 4% while multimedia and video games company Tencent dropped 1.5%.
Taiwan’s Taiex added 0.2% and the Sensex in India was up 1.4%. In Bangkok, the SET was nearly unchanged.
This week will bring an update on consumer sentiment from the business group The Conference Board on Tuesday and key inflation data with the release Wednesday of the personal consumption expenditures index for October. The PCE is the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation and this will be the last PCE reading prior to a meeting of the Federal Reserve next month.
On Friday, stocks closed higher on Wall Street as the market posted its fifth straight gain and the Dow Jones Industrial Average notched another record high, gaining 1% to close at 44,296.51.
The S&P 500 rose 0.3%, to 5,969.34 while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.2% to 19,003.65. The Russell 2000 index rose 1.8%.
Markets have swung widely since the U.S. elections in November, and Trump’s choices to head Treasury and other key positions that influence economic and financial policies were among the factors overhanging investor sentiment.
Bessent, 62, is a hedge fund manager considered to be closely aligned with Wall Street. He is the founder of hedge fund Key Square Capital Management, after having worked on-and-off for Soros Fund Management since 1991. If confirmed by the Senate, he would be the nation’s first openly gay treasury secretary.
The proposed choice was interpreted “as a sign that President-elect Trump might adopt a more measured approach to tariffs and fiscal policy. Bessent’s influence is expected to bring nuanced economic strategies to the forefront, potentially easing concerns over abrupt policy shifts,” Stephen Innex of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.