SINGAPORE – Stocks in Asia-Pacific rose during Monday trading, with multiple markets in North Asia closed due to Lunar New Year holidays.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 1.5% while the Topix index rose 0.95%. Earlier in the session, the Nikkei shot past the 30,000 level for the first time in more than 30 years, according to data from Refinitiv.
Government data released Monday showed that the Japanese economy grew 12.7% year-on-year between October and December last year. The preliminary reading for fourth quarter gross domestic product was higher than the economists’ median estimate of a profit of 9.5%, according to Reuters.
South Korean Kospi also posted a strong increase with a jump of 1.5%. Shares in Australia were up slightly higher, with the S & P / ASX 200 up about 1%.
MSCI’s widest index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan was 0.6% higher.
Markets in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the US are closed on Mondays for public holidays.
Oil prices are rising
Oil prices were higher in the afternoon of Asian trading hours, with the international benchmark for Brent crude oil futures rising 1.79% to $ 63.55 a barrel. US crude oil futures rose 2.25% to $ 60.81 a barrel.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 90,319 after weakening from 91.2 earlier this month.
The Japanese yen was trading at 105.09 per dollar, weaker than levels below 104.8 versus last week’s greenback. The Australian dollar was at $ 0.7784 after its gains last week from levels below $ 0.772.