Shanghai urban skyline and the bund, China.
Comezora | Moment | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Monday as investors assessed China's promises to support domestic businesses as well as developments in trade negotiations between the U.S. and countries in the region.
Over the weekend, China's finance minister Lan Fo'an said that the Asian powerhouse will "adopt more proactive macroeconomic policies to promote the realization of the expected growth target for the whole year and continue to bring stability and momentum to the global economy," according to a Google translation of a statement posted on the ministry's website.
Mainland China's CSI 300 index fell 0.14% to end the day at 3,781.61, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed flat at 21,973.24.
India's benchmark Nifty 50 rose 1.23% while the broader BSE Sensex gained 1.31% as at 1.38 p.m. Indian Standard Time.
Over in Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.38% to end the day at 35,839.99 while the broader Topix index advanced 0.86% to 2,650.61.
In South Korea, the Kospi index edged up 0.1% to close at 2,548.86 while the small-cap Kosdaq fell 1.41% to 719.41.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 ended the day 0.36% higher at 7,997.10.
Investors will also be keeping tabs on developments in trade negotiations between the U.S. and countries in the region, after U.S. President Donald Trump indicated that another pause to his "reciprocal tariffs" was unlikely, according to Bloomberg reports.
— CNBC's Lisa Kailai Han and Sean Conlon contributed to this report.
Asia-Pacific markets mixed as investors assess China's promises to support industries
Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Monday as investors assessed China's promises to support domestic businesses as well as developments in trade negotiations between the U.S. and countries in the region.
Mainland China's CSI 300 index fell 0.14% to end the day at 3,781.61, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed flat at 21,973.24.
India's benchmark Nifty 50 rose 1.23% while the broader BSE Sensex gained 1.31% as at 1.38 p.m. Indian Standard Time.
Over in Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.38% to end the day at 35,839.99 while the broader Topix index advanced 0.86% to 2,650.61.
In South Korea, the Kospi index edged up 0.1% to close at 2,548.86 while the small-cap Kosdaq fell 1.41% to 719.41.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 ended the day 0.36% higher at 7,997.10.
— Amala Balakrishner
India's Nifty, Sensex reverse losses from previous session
Indian stocks rose on Monday, reversing course from losses in the previous two sessions.
The benchmark Nifty 50 gained 1.25% as of 1.15 p.m. local time, while the broad-based BSE Sensex advanced 1.36%.
Nifty 50 Index
'Sell America' trade is a 'big structural change' in capital markets history: Mercer
Mercer's Global Chief Investment Strategist Rich Nuzum described the 'Sell America' trade phenomenon as a "big structural change" in capital markets history.
"The U.S. dollar is down 9% year to date, a record loss for the dollar ... That's a big deal by itself and that suggests that investors are no longer seeing the dollar as a risk-free asset", he notes. "In a risk-off environment where there's a lot of uncertainty, they are actually moving away from the dollar. That's a big structural change over the last 30 years of capital markets history."
In response to the market uncertainty, investors are increasingly looking towards diversification, being ready to maintain rebalancing discipline and being opportunistic, according to Nuzum.
He observed that Europe in particular has been a conducive environment for diversification.
"There's good things happening in Europe. There's a lot of pressure from European-headquartered companies on European governments to roll back regulations in Europe and get more to a common market similar to the U.S.", he said.
For example, Germany has been able to engage in fiscal stimulus due to its low debt-to-GDP ratio, he noted.
Meanwhile, China has been a "tougher bet" as capital market participants await tangible outcomes from the government's efforts to boost the domestic economy, Nuzum added.
- Penny Chen, Neha Hegde
Shares of brokerage Bright Smart surge as Ant Group set to take controlling stake for over $362 million
Shares of Hong Kong-listed brokerage Bright Smart Securities & Commodities Group surged on Monday, following an announcement that Ant Group will acquire a controlling stake for 2.81 billion Hong Kong dollars ($362.26 million).
Ant Group — which will make the purchase through its Wealthiness and Prosperity Holding arm — will buy 857.98 million shares from Bright Smart's chairman, Yip Mow Lum, for 3.28 Hong Kong dollars a piece.
This will give the fintech firm a 50.55% stake in Bright Smart, the companies announced in a joint statement on Apr. 28.
Wealthiness and Prosperity Holding is required to make an unconditional mandatory cash offer for all the issued shares, the statement added.
Shares in Bright Smart surged 82.62% to 5.57 Hong Kong dollars as of 2.29 p.m. local time. This is the first time the stock has crossed the 5 Hong Kong dollar threshold since its debut on the stock market in August 2010.
Ant intends to maintain Bright Smart's stock exchange listing, according to the joint statement.
Shares of Bright Smart Securities & Commodities Group
— Amala Balakrishner
Asian tech giants mostly decline ahead of heavy earnings week in the U.S.
Several Asian tech giants posted losses on Monday, ahead of a heavy earnings week in the U.S.
Losses in Japan were led by Advantest Corp which plunged 5.32% as at 12.50 p.m. Singapore Time.
Declines were also seen in Renesas Electron which had dropped 2.2%, Lasertec which had declined 1.97% and SoftBank Group which slid 0.39%.
Over in South Korea, SK Hynix was last seen trading 1.52% lower while Samsung Electronics was flat.
Movements among tech names in Hong Kong were mixed.
Losses were seen in BYD Company which plunged 4.03%, Meituan which dropped 1.02%, Xpeng which fell 3.46% and Baidu which was down 0.29%.
Elsewhere, gains were seen in Tencent which edged up 0.17%, Xiaomi which increased 0.73% , SenseTime which added 2.11% and JD.com which advanced 2.91%.
— Amala Balakrishner
Shares of Ambani-owned Reliance Industries surge on better-than-expected 4QFY2025 results
Shares of Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries surged as much as 3.35% as at 9.50 a.m. local time, following its better-than-expected fourth quarter profit.
The company - which is controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani - posted a 6.1% year-on-year increase in its consolidated profit after tax to 224.34 billion Indian rupees ($2.6 billion) for the fourth quarter ended March 31.
This comes on the back of a recovery in its oil-to-chemicals business as well as a pick up in its customer-focused segments.
Reliance Industries' full year profit for FY2025 was up 2.73% year on year to 807.87 billion Indian rupees.
— Amala Balakrishner
Singapore's benchmark STI falls for third straight session
Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index fell 0.42% as at 12.35 p.m. local time, extending its losses for the third consecutive session.
Still, the index has gained 0.53% since the start of the year.
STI movement
Toyota Motor shares surge over 5% on reports it might invest in a potential $42 billion buyout of Toyota Industries
Shares of Toyota Motor surged 5.61% as of 11.20 a.m. Japanese time Monday, following reports that it was exploring to invest in a potential $42 billion buyout of automotive parts manufacturer Toyota Industries.
Toyota Motor, which spun off from Toyota Industries in 1937, noted in a regulatory filing on April 26 that it was "exploring various possibilities, including partial investment" in Toyota Industries. Toyota Motor has a market cap that is nearly 10 times that of Toyota Industries, its key parts supplier.
The Japanese automaker added that it will "continuously evaluate the most optimal approach, but no decisions have been made at this time."
Shares of Toyota Industries remain untraded Monday, with buy orders piling up. LSEG data indicates that the counter's bid and ask are set to hit the daily upper limit of 16,225 Japanese yen ($112.85), which is a 23% surge from its Friday close of 13,225 yen.
Correction: This post was updated to reflect that Toyota Motor is reportedly exploring to invest in a potential buyout of Toyota Industries.
— Amala Balakrishner
Bitcoin slides after crossing $95,000 in previous session
Bitcoin fell early Monday, reversing course from gains in the previous session when it crossed $95,000.
The cryptocurrency fell 1.31% to $93,076.30 as of 9.30 a.m. Singapore time.
Bitcoin prices
— Amala Balakrishner
Spot gold extends slide after last week's record high
Spot gold extended its slide after crossing the $3,500 threshold and hitting a record high last week as investors awaited clarity on U.S. tariff negotiations with its trading partners.
The precious metal slid 0.35% as of 9.15 a.m. Singapore time on Monday to trade at $3,306.42 per ounce.
Spot gold
— Amala Balakrishner
English (US) ·