Investing.com - Asian equities rose in morning trade on Monday, extending a two-week rally.
U.S. monetary policy is expected to gather some attention later this week when the Federal Reserve’s new Chairman Jerome Powell speaks before the House Financial Services Committee Tuesday and the Senate Banking Committee Thursday to give his first House testimony.
Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.9% by 9:30pm ET, with a weakening yen cited as a catalyst for the buying. The economic calendar will be in focus later this week as a barrage of data is due, including retail sales and industrial production Wednesday, capital spending Thursday and unemployment and household spending Friday.
Meanwhile, the Communist Party of China moved to remove presidential term limits that would allow president Xi Jinping to rule beyond 2023. The announcement of the move came on Sunday, one week before this year’s National People’s Congress which is set to open on 5 March.
China’s home prices also received some attention as data out on Saturday suggested that the property market was steady in January but prices dipped in top tier cities, including Beijing, Shenzhen and Shanghai.
“The housing prices in tier-one cities reversed from growth to a decline and there was a slowdown in the growth rate in tier-two and -three cities,” said China Bureau of Statistics in a statement.
The Shanghai Composite and Shenzhen Composite traded 0.3% and 1.1% higher respectively.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index traded 0.5% higher. Automaker Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd (HK:0175) jumped 6.7% on reports that it’s chairman Li Shufu took a $9 billion stake in Germany-based Daimler. CLP and Hutchison Telecommunications are due to report their earnings later Monday.
Down under, the S&P/ASX 200 also edged up 0.4%. Bluescope Steel Ltd (AX:BSL) surged 4.3% after the company announced a 23% jump in first-half net profit and a A$150 million share repurchase program. The steel sector was in focus today, as U.S. president Donald Trump reportedly suggests 24% tariffs on steel imports.
Elsewhere, Samsung (KS:005930) grabbed the spotlight in Korea as it launched a new Galaxy S9 model to take on Apple’s iPhone X. The KOSPI traded 0.2% higher, as investors await Bank of Korea’s policy decision and briefing due Tuesday.