SINGAPORE – Shares in Asia-Pacific increased in Monday’s trading, with several markets in North Asia closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 1.5% while the Topix index rose 0.95%. At the start of the session, Nikkei surpassed the 30,000 level for the first time in more than 30 years, according to data from Refinitiv.
Government data released on Monday showed that Japan’s economy grew 12.7% on an annualized basis between October and December last year. The preliminary reading for the fourth quarter’s gross domestic product was higher than the median estimate by economists of a 9.5% gain, according to Reuters.
South Korea’s Kospi also made robust gains, up 1.5%. Australian stocks were up, with the S & P / ASX 200 up about 1%.
The broader MSCI index for Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan was traded 0.6% above.
The markets in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the USA are closed on Monday for public holidays.
Oil prices soar
Oil prices rose on the afternoon of trading in Asia, with international benchmark Brent futures rising 1.79% to $ 63.55 a barrel. US oil futures gained 2.25% to $ 60.81 a barrel.
The US dollar index, which tracks the US dollar against a basket of its peers, was at 90.319, after weakening earlier this month from 91.2.
The yen was trading at 105.09 per dollar, weaker than levels below 104.8 against the dollar seen last week. The Australian dollar was at $ 0.7784 after its high last week from levels below $ 0.772.