BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares advanced early Monday and bitcoin surged to a record high ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.
U.S. futures fell and oil prices were little changed. U.S. markets will be closed Monday for a holiday.
The price of bitcoin surged as high as $109,134 early Monday, up from $99,563. Cryptocurrencies have gained substantially since Trump was elected, as investors betted on his favorable comments about such assets.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.8% to 19,932.80 after China’s central bank kept its key lending rates unchanged. The Shanghai Composite index edged 0.1% higher to 3,244.38.
A Hong Kong court extended a deadline for troubled property developer Country Garden to reach an agreement with its creditors until next month in the latest slow step toward recovery from a prolonged downturn in China’s real estate sector.
Sentiment also was helped by upbeat comments by U.S. and Chinese officials ahead of Trump’s inauguration later Monday. Pledges by both sides to work to improve relations may have alleviated some concerns over trade tensions that have built up as businesses brace for a possible increase in tariffs on Chinese exports to the U.S.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index climbed 1.2% to 38,902.50. The dollar slipped against the Japanese yen, trading at 156.20 yen, down from 156.31 yen. Expectations are building that Japan’s central bank might raise its key interest rate in a monetary policy meeting later this week. Higher rates tend to boost the value of the yen versus the dollar.
The euro rose to $1.0312 from $1.0281.
In South Korea, the Kospi slipped 0.1% to 2,520.05. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.5% to 8,347.40.
Taiwan’s Taiex picked up 0.5% and India’s Sensex surged 0.7%. Bangkok’s SET gained 0.1%.
In other dealings early Monday, U.S. benchmark crude oil shed 14 cents to $77.25 per barrel and Brent crude, the international standard, gave up 23 cents to $80.56 per barrel.
On Friday, the S&P 500 climbed 1% to 5,996.66, clinching its first winning week in the last three. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8% to 43,487.83, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 1.5% to 19,630.20.
SLB helped lead the market after the provider oilfield services delivered bigger profit and revenues for the end of 2024 than analysts expected. It jumped 6.1% after it also raised its dividend by 3.6% and said it’s returning $2.3 billion to its investors by buying back its own stock.
All the Big Tech companies in what’s come to be known as the “ Magnificent Seven ” rose: Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla. Because they’re so massive in size, their movements carry more weight on the S&P 500 and other indexes than other stocks.
