SYDNEY, NSW, Australia – Stocks in Japan and Hong Kong rose strongly on Monday, while in China and Australia stock markets were flat.
“Clouds have started to gather over the developed world as political uncertainty increases in the U.S. and Europe grapples with a resurgence in COVID-19 cases,” Kerry Craig, Global Market Strategist, J.P. Morgan Asset Management told Reuters news agency Monday.
“While governments are loathe to re-introduce nationwide lockdowns, localised and sector based restrictions may last for some time, restraining economic activity,” Craig added.
In Tokyo the Nikkei 225 rose 307.00 points or 1.32% to 23,511.62.
The Hong Kong Hang Seng advanced 240.63 points or 1.04% to 23,476.05.
The Australian All Ordinaries added 6.00 points or 0.10% to 6,146.50.
China’s Shanghai Composite dipped 1.88 points or 0.06% to 3,217.53.
The U.S. dollar was mostly steady but lost ground to the British pound, which rose to 1.2819 by the Sydney close Monday.
The euro softened to 1.1639. The Japanese yen was unchanged at 105.39. The Swiss franc edged down to 0.9275.
The Canadian dollar was lower at 1.3396. The Australian dollar was little changed at 0.7049, as was the New Zealand dollar at 0.6550.
