Asia – Pacific Stocks Rise, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index Bounces 1.05% Emerging from Bear Market.

Stocks in Asia-Pacific rose on Monday trade as Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index bounced back after falling into a bear market last week.

The Hang Seng index rose 1.05% in afternoon trade, as shares of Chinese tech giant Tencent rose nearly 2% while Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing surged more than 5%.

Heavy losses last week left the Hang Seng index more than 20% below its mid-February high as regulatory uncertainty clouded the outlook for Chinese technology companies.

Mainland Chinese stocks also rose on the day, with the Shanghai composite up 1.45% to 3,477.13 while the Shenzhen component gained 1.981% to 14,535.88.

The Nikkei 225 in Japan rose 1.78% to close at 27,494.24 while the Topix index jumped 1.83% to end the trading day at 1,915.14.

South Korea’s Kospi closed 0.97% higher at 3,090.21. Shares of LG Chem, however, plunged 11.14% after General Motors said Friday it was expanding its recall of Chevrolet Bolt EVs. The automaker said it found manufacturing defects in certain battery cells produced at LG manufacturing facilities.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.39% higher to close at 7,489.90 while the MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1.17%.

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Monday’s gains for Asia-Pacific stocks came after last week’s losses. Investors have been concerned about the potential tapering by the U.S. Federal Reserve as well as the spread of the delta Covid-19 variant.

Asian Markets Currencies & Oil

Oil prices were higher in the afternoon of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures up 2.88% to $67.06 per barrel. U.S. crude futures advanced 2.8% to $63.88 per barrel.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 93.365 after its recent climb from below 93.2.

The Japanese yen traded at 109.97, stronger than levels above 110 seen against the greenback last week. The Australian dollar was at $0.7156, having declined last week from above $0.729.