Investing.com - Asian-Pacific markets started Monday's session on a high note, as major US benchmarks finished in positive territory for the month.
By 10:30 am AEST (12:30 am GMT) the S&P/ASX 200, KOSPI 200, and Nikkei 225 each added 0.9%, 1.7% and 1.3%, respectively.
The US major indices wrapped up May with additional gains, as Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM) recovered some of its losses from Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 574 points, or 1.5%, to 38686, the S&P 500 increased by 0.8% to 5277, whereas the NASDAQ Composite slightly dipped 2 points to 16735, still significantly above the day's worst levels.
For the month, the DJIA, S&P 500, and Nasdaq saw increases of 2.3%, 438%, and 6.9% respectively.
The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation metric met expectations, causing little shift in rate cut anticipations. Information technology stocks ended the day almost unchanged after a late rally, while all other sectors saw increases. Energy, real estate, and utilities were the top-performing sectors as investors shifted away from riskier stocks.
In the commodities markets, Brent crude oil fell 0.9% to US$81.11 a barrel, and gold also decreased by 0.7% to US$2,327.33.
In local bond markets, the yield on Australian 2 Year government bonds dropped to 4.12%, and the 10 Year yield also fell to 4.41%.
US Treasury notes decreased, with the 2 Year yield at 4.87% and the 10 Year yield at 4.50%.
In Asia, Chinese shares closed with mixed results, fluctuating after initial gains as traders evaluated May PMI data that fell short of expectations. Mining and infrastructure stocks led the losses, while software stocks saw the most gains. Hong Kong shares also relinquished morning gains to close lower after the disappointing China PMI data. Semiconductor and consumer-related tech stocks led the losses, while telecommunications stocks boosted the market.
Japanese stocks closed higher, with real estate and financial stocks leading the rally, as signs of slowing US growth raised hopes for the Fed's rate cuts later this year. Investors will be focusing on a US inflation gauge due later in the day and their implications for the monetary policy. India's Sensex closed 0.1% higher, led by finance stocks.
In Europe, U.K. stocks rose, with the FTSE 100 Index increasing by 0.6% to 8277.99. Among large companies, YouGov PLC was the biggest gainer, surging 5.6%, followed by Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC and National Grid (LON:NG) PLC. In Europe, shares closed slightly higher, with the STOXX Europe 600 Index adding 0.3% to 518.17, Germany's DAX was unchanged at 18,497.94 and France's CAC 40 gained 0.2% to 7,992.87