Asian stocks start week with gains after US regional banks rebound

Asian stocks gained ground on Monday as markets in the region followed Wall Street higher in the wake of a rally for US regional banks.

Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng index rose 0.8 per cent, while in China the CSI 300 index of Shanghai- and Shenzhen-listed shares climbed 1 per cent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.7 per cent, while Japan’s Topix broke ranks with the rest of the region, falling 0.3 per cent.

The gains in Asia came after a rebound at the end of last week for US banking stocks, which had earlier been battered by concerns over the collapse of lender First Republic. The KBW Regional Banking index rose 4.7 per cent on Friday, while the broader S&P 500 gained 1.9 per cent and the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite put on 2.3 per cent.

But analysts were pessimistic that markets in Asia would push higher without improving economic data from China or signs the US Federal Reserve might begin cutting interest rates.

“Overall market sentiment has stabilised, but I don’t really think [the market] can break through the wait-and-see, up-and-down pattern we’ve been seeing,” said Dickie Wong, head of research at Kingston Securities. “Even the Wall Street gains on Friday were mainly driven by regional banks, so obviously I don’t see much upside in the near term.”

Futures tipped the S&P 500 to edge down 0.1 per cent when trading begins on Wall Street on Monday. Markets in London are closed for a national holiday.

Elsewhere in markets, Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, rose 0.1 per cent to $75.36 a barrel, while US marker West Texas Intermediate was up 0.1 per cent at $71.43.

In government bond markets, yields fell slightly as bond prices inched higher following a sell-off on Friday, with the yield on 10-year US Treasuries down 0.01 percentage points at 3.424 per cent in Asian trading on Monday.