Investing.com - APAC indices opened higher on Monday, buoyed by US investors diversifying their portfolios beyond major tech firms.
By 10:30 am AEST (12:30 am GMT) the S&P/ASX 200, KOSPI 200 and Nikkei 225 lifted 0.8%, 1.1% and 2.3%, respectively.
In the US, stocks rallied on Friday, with gains spread across various sectors, a departure from recent patterns dominated by big tech.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.6%, adding 654 points. The NASDAQ Composite gained 1%, while the S&P 500 increased by 1.1%.
On the bond markets, Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields slipped by 0.057%, settling just below 4.2%.
The Federal Reserve is widely anticipated to maintain current high interest rates at their meeting next Wednesday but may suggest a potential rate cut in September.
Ahead in the week, investors will be closely monitoring key earnings results from Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) will release their results on Thursday after the market closes, following Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) on Tuesday and Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) on Wednesday.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq recently faced a selloff among the "Magnificent Seven," adding to the anticipation.
In commodities, Brent crude oil fell 1.5% to $81.13 per barrel, while gold rose 1.0% to $2,387.19.
Chinese shares ended higher after four consecutive sessions of losses, spurred by a trade-in subsidy program for home appliances and cars aimed at boosting consumption. Consumer durables and auto stocks led the gains, with Midea Group jumping 5.8% and Haier Smart Home up 8.3%. BYD increased by 1.8%, and Great Wall Motor gained 2.6%. On the downside, telecom stocks weighed on the market, with China Mobile down 4.5% and China Telecom off by 4.3%. The Shanghai Composite Index ended 0.1% higher at 2,890.90; the Shenzhen Composite Index closed 1.4% higher, and the ChiNext Price Index gained 0.9%.
Hong Kong shares also ended higher, likely due to a technical correction after three days of losses. The Hang Seng Index edged up 0.1% to 17,021.31, and the Hang Seng Tech Index rose 0.7%. In major stocks, JD.com climbed 3.0%, and Xiaomi added 1.0%. However, China Mobile fell 2.7%, and China Unicom dropped 4.2%.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.5% to close at 37,667.41, tracking overnight losses in the US tech sector. Concerns about tech companies' AI spending and the time required for benefits to materialize prompted some profit-taking. Tech-related companies led the losses, with Renesas Electronics slipping 5.5%, Tokyo Electron dropping 4.8%, and Ibiden down 4.4%. The 10-year JGB yield was down 1 basis point at 1.055%.
Indian shares closed higher as investors engaged in bargain-hunting after five consecutive sessions of losses. The benchmark Sensex rose 1.6% to 81,332.72, with almost all sectors ending in the green. Steel and tech stocks led the gains, with Tata Steel up 3.3%, JSW Steel advancing 3.0%, and HCL Technologies rising 2.9%. Nestle India was among the few decliners, dropping 0.1%. Investors are watching for more corporate earnings in the coming weeks.
U.K. stocks gained on Friday, with the FTSE 100 Index rising 1.2% to 8,285.71. Among large companies, Drax Group (LON:DRX) PLC surged 14%, Babcock International Group (LON:BAB) PLC increased by 8.7%, and NatWest Group PLC climbed 7.0%. On the downside, Oxford Nanopore Technologies PLC posted a decline of 2.9%, followed by Spirent Communications PLC, which fell 1.8%, and SEGRO PLC, down 1.7%.
Elsewhere in Europe, markets closed higher. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.8% to 512.83, Germany's DAX increased by 0.7% to 18,417.55, and France's CAC 40 gained 1.2% to 7,517.68.