Upon signing the China-US trade pact, the mood in most Asian markets remains upbeat and the global outlook appears a little rosier.
Focus now turns to the release of corporate earnings, with big US names including Netflix, IMB and Hyundai due to report over the coming days.
Friday’s broadly healthy Chinese data provided some reassurance to traders, indicating a growth slowdown in the world’s number two economy may have bottomed out, and suggesting this year could see some improvement.
“We are entering 2020 on a more stable footing with economies globally stabilising and looking like they’re turning up, and the phase one trade deal,” Anne Anderson, of UBS Asset Management, told Bloomberg TV. “So it’s a bit more positive with regard to the economic fundamentals.”
Traders remain upbeat and Tokyo ended the morning up 0.3 percent, while Shanghai and Sydney each gained 0.3 percent. Seoul piled on more than one percent while Taipei was also up.
However, Hong Kong struggled to build on last week’s advances and was slightly lower in the morning, with Singapore, Jakarta and Manila also in the red. But according to reports, the general outlook will further rise.
