Global Markets Rise Slightly to Start the Week -- Update

By Kenan Machado 

Asia-Pacific stocks were mostly higher, even in Japan, where a stronger yen failed to put a damper on gains.

The Nikkei was recently up 0.4%, as some large financial companies have continued to benefit from gains in bond yields.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng hit its highest intraday level since 2007, surpassing the previous record set on Oct. 25, 2007, according to FactSet. The benchmark was last up 0.7% as Tencent Holdings rebounded 0.7%.

Stock benchmarks in Australia, Korea and Singapore were also higher, while New Zealand's NZX 50 was just 0.1% up. In China, the CSI 300 index, which tracks the biggest stocks in Shanghai and Shenzhen, was up 0.3%.

The yen hit a four-month high in Asian trading versus the U.S. dollar at Yen110.85, even after Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda failed to offer anything new for market participants looking for signs of monetary tightening.

Commodity prices have also benefited from a weaker dollar recently.

"Commodity markets are painting a positive picture for shares," said Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets. But it isn't just a currency play.

"The clear evidence of improving activity goes some way to justifying the ongoing global share rally," Mr. McCarthy said.

Oil futures were down slightly in Asian trading but shares of Australia mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto hit fresh multiyear highs, rising about 1%.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 14, 2018 22:27 ET (03:27 GMT)

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