Asia-Pacific stocks traded mixed on Monday as investors weighed Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s weekend resignation announcement and awaited key regional economic data.
By 11:35 am AEST (1:35 am GMT), Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.4%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.6% to a fresh record above 44,000, and South Korea’s Kospi 200 advanced 0.5%.
Among data releases, the Westpac–Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Index fell 3.1% to 95.4 in September from 98.5 in August, while NAB’s business confidence index for August eased to 4 from 8 in July.
Westpac's Head of Australian Macro-Forecasting, Matthew Hassan, noted: “Outright optimism remains elusive for Australian consumers. The cost-of-living crisis may be largely over and policy easing generating some uplift but there is still clearly some unease about the path ahead.”
On Wall Street, major benchmarks ended higher Monday. The Dow rose 0.3%, the S&P 500 added 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.5%, setting a fresh record close.
In China, equities closed higher with the Shanghai Composite up 0.4% at 3,826.8 and the CSI 300 gaining 0.2% to 4,467.6.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.9% to 25,633.9, while India’s BSE Sensex inched up 0.1% to 80,710.8.
Commodities saw renewed strength, with Brent crude up 0.8% to US$66.02 per barrel after retreating from multi-week lows, while spot gold surged 1.4% to a new record of US$3,635.85 per ounce.
In Europe, markets also advanced. London’s FTSE 100 edged up 0.1% to 9,221.4, Germany’s DAX gained 0.9% to 23,807.1, and France’s CAC 40 lifted 0.8% to 7,734.8.
