Asian markets mostly advanced Monday following rallies on Wall Street and in Europe, while the dollar continued to struggle after the Federal Reserve dampened expectations for an early interest rate hike.
Tokyo rose 0.83 per cent, Hong Kong gained 0.37 per cent, Seoul added 0.10 per cent and Shanghai was up 0.63 per cent, marking a ninth successive rise. Sydney eased 0.34 per cent.
With few catalysts to drive business early in the week investors took their lead from their US counterparts, who have been cheered by the Fed's dovish comments on rates.
While the central bank opened the door Wednesday for a rise this year, it said there were still weaknesses in the US economy, including low inflation and soft manufacturing. The news sent global shares soaring and the dollar tumbling.
SINGAPORE share prices opened higher on Monday with the Straits Times Index (STI) up 4.21 points to 3,416.65 as at 9.08 am, following gains in US and European markets on Friday.
Top gainers in early morning trade included UOB, DBS and Singapore Exchange. Shares of Noble Group rose on heavy trading after the company said it will start legal proceedings following the third Iceberg report.
Some 86.7 million shares worth S$120.9 million changed hands, with gainers outnumbering losers 85 to 56.
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The dollar finished the week about 1.5% lower against the euro Friday, snapping three weeks of gains.
The bulk of the dollar’s losses occurred after Federal Reserve policy makers said that they expect to begin raising interest rates later in the year—and more gradually—than the market expected.
The euro EURUSD, +1.50% traded at $1.0821, compared with $1.0668 Thursday.
The ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, -1.28% a measure of the dollar’s strength against six rival currencies, finished the week down 2.4% at 97.6000.
