Asian stocks rose and gold hit a near three-month high on Monday, extending a move started late last week when a steep drop in U.S. new home sales tempered expectations the Federal Reserve will soon reduce stimulus. Trading was subdued, particularly in the currency markets, as investors awaited fresh offshore leads amid a lack of market-moving economic news out of Asia.
The Shanghai Composite and Australian equities rose to a one-week high each, South Korea's Kospi rose to a three-day high but Japan's Nikkei index traded flat. Belle International Holdings Ltd., a retailer of woman’s footwear, advanced 6.9 percent in Hong Kong after reporting first half-net income. Newcrest Mining Ltd. jumped 6.9 percent, leading a surge in Australian gold producers after the price of the precious metal rose above $1,400 an ounce last week.
Japan’s Topix index swung between gains and losses, with Tokyo Electric Power Co. slumping 7.7 percent in Tokyo after eight tons of filtered water leaked at its crippled Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.2 percent and New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index gained 0.4 percent. South Korea’s Kospi Index increased 0.9 percent. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 0.3 percent to 131.77 as of 12:26 p.m. in Tokyo, with all of the 10 industry groups on the gauge rising, a welcome relief after the MSCI index suffered a hefty 2.9 percent drop last week.
China's benchmark index crossed the 2,080 mark to its highest levels since last Tuesday after the nation's statistics bureau said that economy is showing clear signs of stabilization and is on track to meet the government's 7.5 percent growth target.
U.S. Housing
U.S. stocks advanced on Friday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing above 15,000 points as data showed sales of new U.S. single-family homes falling to their lowest in nine months, raising doubts about whether the Fed can afford to start to pull back next month and giving investors an excuse to buy back severely beaten-down assets.
While Friday's U.S. housing data is helping stocks and gold to recover for now, it weighed heavily on the dollar. The dollar index (DXY), which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of major currencies, was flat at 81.377, having slipped 0.2 percent on Friday. Spot gold briefly popped above $1,400 an ounce for the first time since early June, extending Friday's 1.5 percent rally. It last stood at $1,394.51.