Investing.com - Asian shares mostly gained on Monday as news that the FBI stood by its earlier recommendation that no criminal charges were warranted against Democrat Hillary Clinton for using a private email server aided overall market sentiment.
News that FBI had made the statement lifted a cloud over Clinton's presidential campaign two days before the U.S. election and possibly blunted momentum for rival Donald Trump.
In Japan, the BoJ said Monday that several board members want a push to increase inflation expectations in a sustainable way, according to minutes of the September meeting. As well, Japan reported average wages rose 0.2% as expected in September, the first rise in two months, but much slower than the increase in corporate profits. Firms are reluctant to raise wages amid uncertainty over global and domestic growth.
The Nikkei 225 rose 1.44% on a weaker yen.
Elsewhere, China has appointed Xiao Jie as the country's new finance minister, state-run Xinhua news agency said on Monday, replacing Lou Jiwei. The Shanghai Composite Index edged up 0.02%, while. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.44%.
As well, Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said Friday that the labor market continues to recover robustly despite a variety of negative shocks and now verges on full employment, aiding strong dollar sentiment.
The U.S. economy added 161,000 payroll jobs in October for an average increase of 181,000 per month this year, slower than last year's 229,000 pace, but enough to keep the unemployment rate at around 5%.
"The labor market has, by and large, had a pretty good year," Fischer said in a speech prepared for the International Monetary Fund's annual research conference. "This recovery has been and continues to be powerful in terms of one of our two main targets -- employment -- and it is my view that the labor market is close to full employment."
On Monday, the AIG construction index fell 5.5 points to 45.9, a 20-month low. "While the falls in residential building activity are coming from high levels further easing is indicated by further falls in new orders in October. There is clearly scope for an increase in infrastructure spending to help offset the unwinding of the big mining- and energy-sector projects and the retreat of residential activity," AI head of policy Peter Burn said.
The S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.17%.
In the coming week, trade and inflation data out of China will be watched for indications on the strength of the world’s number-two economy is performing. China's current account surplus rose to $71.2 billion in the third quarter, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) announced Friday.
Last week, U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Friday, as losses in the Consumer Goods, Oil & Gas and Technology sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.24% to hit a new 3-months low, while the S&P 500 index declined 0.17%, and the NASDAQ Composite index lost 0.24%.