HONG KONG- Asian shares started the week with gains and the dollar was not far off two-week lows after US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell struck a more dovish tone than some investors expected in long-awaited speech on Friday.
Oil prices rose, meanwhile, after energy firms suspended production as Hurricane Ida slammed into the US’ southern coast.
Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.9 percent soon after the bell, and MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.32 percent in early trading before Chinese markets had opened.
Australia climbed 0.39 percent and Korea’s Kopsi gained 0.54 percent.
US stock futures, the S&P 500 e-minis, were barely moved, up 0.04 percent.
Investors had been waiting to see whether Powell, who was speaking at a symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, would give a clear indication of his views on timing of the central bank’s tapering of asset purchases or hiking interest rates to start removing monetary stimulus.
However, in his prepared remarks, he offered no indication on cutting asset purchases beyond saying it could be “this year”, causing the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq to close last week at new record highs.
The next big event on traders’ calendars is US nonfarm payroll figures for August due to be published Friday, as Powell has suggested an improvement in the labor market is one major remining prerequisite for action.
“A strong payrolls print could instigate a debate for a September tapering start,” Rodrigo Catril, senior FX strategist at NAB, said in a note.
The absence of a timetable for tapering caused US benchmark Treasuries and the dollar to slip, and both trends continued on Monday morning in Asia.
The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes was 1.3054 percent compared with its US close of 1.312 percent, and the dollar index =USD which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies was around a two week low.
