Share markets got an upbeat start to the week Monday on reports that China plans to ramp up controls of its unruly property sector, and news of stronger-than-expected manufacturing data from Japan. Attention is likely to focus this week on Friday’s release of US growth data, as investors adapt to expectations the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates in December.
Germany’s DAX gained 0.8% to 10,976.28 and France’s CAC40 was up 0.7% to 4,567.74. The FTSE 100 of Britain rose 0.2% to 7,033.76. US shares looked set to rise, with Dow and S&P 500 futures up 0.5%, ABC News reported.
In a statement on its website, China’s banking watchdog, the China Banking Regulatory Commission, called for stricter oversight of the real estate market and controls on risks related to industries with excess capacity and local government debts. The comments followed reports that loans to the property sector rose to over 25 trillion yuan ($3.7 trillion) by the end of September, up a whopping 25% from a year earlier.
Japan posted a trade surplus of 498.3 billion yen ($4.8 billion) in September, compared with a deficit of 18.7 billion yen in August. While exports fell 6.9% from a year earlier, pulled lower by anemic demand for autos and machinery, that was better than the forecasts for a decline of more than 10%.
Meanwhile, a preliminary survey of factory managers showed a fifth straight month of improvement in manufacturing sentiment and the measure for output rose for the first time since January.
The Shanghai Composite index led gains, adding 1.2% to 3,128.25, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1% to 23,604.08. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.3% to 17,234.42. South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.7% to 2,047.74 and India’s Sensex advanced 0.4% to 28,191.88. Australia’s S&P ASX 200 fell 0.4% to 5,408.50. Markets in Southeast Asia and Taiwan were mostly higher.
Benchmark US crude fell 5 cents to $50.80 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It rose 22 cents to close at $50.85 a barrel in New York on Friday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained 7 cents to $51.85 a barrel. It gained 40 cents Friday to close at $51.78 a barrel in London.
The dollar rose to 103.89 yen from 103.80 on Friday. The euro fell to $1.089 from $1.088.
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