Asian shares began the week in positive territory on Monday, boosted by gains on Wall Street and hints of positive data this week by central banks in two of the world’s three biggest economies.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1 percent, while Japan’s Nikkei stock index added 1.8 percent. In China, the blue-chip CSI300 index rose 2.7 percent, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 2.6 percent, after both had lost more than 2 percent last week.
South Korea’s won advanced to its strongest level of 2016 versus the dollar, while gold rebounded from a one-week low and copper and tin rallied more than 1 percent.
U.S. crude oil retreated from a three-month high as Iran repeated plans to boost output. Oil prices had extended gains last week and investors reconsidered the stimulus steps taken by the European Central Bank. The S&P 500 ended at its highest level of the year on Friday.
Global investors remain cautious, however, ahead of policy decisions by the Bank of Japan, the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of England on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday respectively.
FED, BOE and BOJ Meetings This Week
The Fed and BOE should remain unchanged at their meetings later this week, in the wake of the ECB’s move last week to expand its easing program.
The BOJ is expected to keep policy unchanged after surprising markets by adopting negative interest rates in late January.
According to Stefan Worrall, director of Japan equity sales at Credit Suisse, “I don’t think investors are expecting anything drastic from the BOJ, especially given the fact that they are meeting before the FOMC and will be reticent about making a big aggressive gamble ahead of a Fed meeting.”
