Investing.com - Asian shares traded mixed on Monday with the Nikkei gaining on a weaker yen and continued prospects for aggressive monetary easing by the Bank of Japan.
The Nikkei 225 index rose 1.85% to end morning trade while the Hang Send index rose 0.28% and the Shanghai Composite fell 0.09%.
USD/JPY traded at 102.91, up 0.06%, on weaker that expected third quarter GDP data that rose 0.3% quarter on quarter, below a forecast of +0.4%, and comments at the weekend by BoJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda that scaling back current aggressive monetary policy may be more difficult than a five-year effort that ended in 2006.
In the week ahead, the U.S. is to release what will be closely watched data on retail sales, while German trade data and euro zone data on industrial production will also be in focus.
On Monday, in the euro zone, Germany is to release reports on the trade balance and industrial production. In addition, the Eurogroup of euro zone finance ministers is to hold talks in Brussels.
Also at the weekend, Greece's parliament approved at midnight Saturday a 2014 budget hat includes EUR1.2 billion in new taxes, EUR3.2 billion in spending cuts and EUR3.9 billion in revenues from real estate taxes.
Separately, the European Commission's Economic and Monetary Affairs said it would resume technical talks with Greece in January.
Last week, U.S. stocks shot up after the November jobs report and a widely watched gauge of consumer sentiment beat expectations and fueled hopes for a more robust economic recovery around the corner.
At the close of U.S. trading Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.26%, the S&P 500 index rose 1.12%, while the Nasdaq Composite index rose 0.73%.
The Department of Labor reported earlier that the U.S. economy added 203,000 jobs in November, beating expectations for a 180,000 increase and up from a downwardly revised 200,000 rise the previous month.
In the private sector, 196,000 jobs were added last month compared to expectations for a 180,000 rise, after an increase of 214,000 in October.
The report also said the U.S. unemployment rate fell to 7.0% in November, from 7.3% in October, beating expectations for a downtick to 7.2%.
Also on Friday, the preliminary Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index increased to 82.5 in December from 75.1 the previous month, far surpassing expectations for a 76.0 reading.
Stocks also rose on sentiment that despite the improving data, the Federal Reserve won't begin to taper stimulus tools such as monthly bond purchases in December but will likely wait until early 2014.
Stimulus tools such as the Fed's USD85 billion in monthly bond purchases drive down interest rates to spur recovery, boosting stock prices in the process, though talk of their dismantling can dampen stock prices by fanning uncertainty as to how equities will perform without a monetary crutch.
European indices, meanwhile, finished higher.
After the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.97%, France's CAC 40 rose 0.72%, while Germany's DAX 30 rose 0.96%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 finished up 0.83%.
The Nikkei 225 index rose 1.85% to end morning trade while the Hang Send index rose 0.28% and the Shanghai Composite fell 0.09%.
USD/JPY traded at 102.91, up 0.06%, on weaker that expected third quarter GDP data that rose 0.3% quarter on quarter, below a forecast of +0.4%, and comments at the weekend by BoJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda that scaling back current aggressive monetary policy may be more difficult than a five-year effort that ended in 2006.
In the week ahead, the U.S. is to release what will be closely watched data on retail sales, while German trade data and euro zone data on industrial production will also be in focus.
On Monday, in the euro zone, Germany is to release reports on the trade balance and industrial production. In addition, the Eurogroup of euro zone finance ministers is to hold talks in Brussels.
Also at the weekend, Greece's parliament approved at midnight Saturday a 2014 budget hat includes EUR1.2 billion in new taxes, EUR3.2 billion in spending cuts and EUR3.9 billion in revenues from real estate taxes.
Separately, the European Commission's Economic and Monetary Affairs said it would resume technical talks with Greece in January.
Last week, U.S. stocks shot up after the November jobs report and a widely watched gauge of consumer sentiment beat expectations and fueled hopes for a more robust economic recovery around the corner.
At the close of U.S. trading Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.26%, the S&P 500 index rose 1.12%, while the Nasdaq Composite index rose 0.73%.
The Department of Labor reported earlier that the U.S. economy added 203,000 jobs in November, beating expectations for a 180,000 increase and up from a downwardly revised 200,000 rise the previous month.
In the private sector, 196,000 jobs were added last month compared to expectations for a 180,000 rise, after an increase of 214,000 in October.
The report also said the U.S. unemployment rate fell to 7.0% in November, from 7.3% in October, beating expectations for a downtick to 7.2%.
Also on Friday, the preliminary Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index increased to 82.5 in December from 75.1 the previous month, far surpassing expectations for a 76.0 reading.
Stocks also rose on sentiment that despite the improving data, the Federal Reserve won't begin to taper stimulus tools such as monthly bond purchases in December but will likely wait until early 2014.
Stimulus tools such as the Fed's USD85 billion in monthly bond purchases drive down interest rates to spur recovery, boosting stock prices in the process, though talk of their dismantling can dampen stock prices by fanning uncertainty as to how equities will perform without a monetary crutch.
European indices, meanwhile, finished higher.
After the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.97%, France's CAC 40 rose 0.72%, while Germany's DAX 30 rose 0.96%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 finished up 0.83%.