Stocks in Asia saw a rise on Monday despite a Moody’s downgrade to the U.S. credit outlook, as investors took their cue from Wall Street’s Friday rally. Tech stocks stood out, boosted by the calming of long-term Treasury yields and the positive outlook for borrowing-dependent growth shares.
U.S. 10-year Treasury yields held steady at around 4.646%, while the U.S. dollar index hovered just below its post-payrolls-report high of 106.01, last trading little changed around 105.80.
Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.46% and Taiwan’s tech-heavy equity benchmark rallied 1.17%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.49%.
However, mainland Chinese blue chips were slightly lower, and Australia’s resource-heavy benchmark slipped 0.13%. Nomura Securities strategist Naka Matsuzawa said equities are likely close to a peak, anticipating a pause in Fed rate hikes.
Meanwhile, crude oil prices eased on Monday as demand concerns outweighed supply worries, with Brent crude futures for January down 35 cents, or 0.4%, at $81.08 a barrel, and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for December at $76.82, down 35 cents, or 0.5%.
