On Monday, many major Asian markets were closed for Lunar New Year celebrations, leaving Australian shares rising to their highest level in over nine months, as technology sectors followed Wall Street’s solid finish last week and steady crude oil prices buoyed energy stocks.
By 06:28 AM (Thai time), the S&P/ASX 200 index had risen 0.1% to 7,458.00, extending gains to a fourth session. Trading volumes were low due to holiday closures in most major Asian markets, including key trading partner China.
Energy equities in Australia rose 0.5% as oil prices ended higher on Friday, as economic prospects in China, the world’s second-largest economy, improved.
The sub-index reached its highest level since November 24 of last year, with big oil and gas companies Woodside Energy and Santos up 1.2% and 1.5%, respectively.
Meanwhile, Nikkei in Japan gained 1.20% as of 9:32 AM (Thai time).
The S&P 500 Index advanced for the first time in four days on Friday, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 recorded its greatest one-day rise since November, as Google parent Alphabet Inc. and Netflix Inc. jumped. European stock contracts increased in value.
Oil prices, meanwhile, declined marginally after rising to a mid-November high on Friday as optimism over higher demand from China ended a second consecutive week of increases.
