Asian stock markets are mostly trading with strong gains on Monday with investors going on a buying spree amid renewed optimism about the global economy following the pro-austerity New Democracy party winning the parliamentary election in Greece. A buoyant close on Wall Street last Friday is also contributing to the upbeat mood in the Asian region.
In the Australian market, mining, energy, financial and industrial stocks are up with impressive gains. Stocks from several other sectors too are trading notably higher. Barring the Utilities index, which is down by about 0.6 percent, all the sectoral indices are up in green with notable gains.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is up 71.7 points or 1.8 percent at 4,129. The broader All Ordinaries index is trading at 4,175.7, up 68.7 points or 1.7 percent from its previous close.
Among bank stocks, ANZ Bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank and Westpac are up 1.3 to 1.8 percent. Bendigo & Adelaide Bank and Bank of Queensland are also trading notably higher.
Among top miners, BHP Billiton is up 2 percent, Rio Tinto is gaining more than 3 percent and Fortescue Metals is up nearly 3 percent, while Newcrest Mining is trading 0.8 percent up.
In the energy sector, Santos is up more than 3 percent and Caltex Australia is trading 2.8 percent up, while Woodside Petroleum, Oil Search and Origin Energy are trading higher by 1.2 to 1.5 percent.
Lynas Corporation shares are up nearly 11 percent following an announcement from the company that an appeal against the operating licence for its controversial new plant in Malaysia has been dismissed. The appeal relates to the temporary operating licence given to the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) in Gebeng in February 2012.
Fairfax Media is gaining 8 percent on hectic buying at the counter following the company's announcement of a restructuring plan.
Beach Energy, Paladin Energy, Leighton Holdings, Oz Minerals, Boral and Whitehaven Coal are trading higher by 4 to 5.5 percent.
Challenger, Downer EDI, Suncorp Group, Macquarie Group, QBE Insurance Group, James Hardie Industries, Sims Metal Management and Orical are all trading higher by 2.8 to 3.5 percent.
In economic news, sales of new motor vehicles in Australia rose 2.4 percent in May, according to data released by the Australia Bureau of Statistics.
The data showed that 91,994 new vehicles were sold, seasonally adjusted, in May, compared to an upwardly revised 89,812 in April. In the year to May, new motor vehicle sales rose 22.4 percent, seasonally adjusted.
The Japanese stock market opened on an upbeat note with investors thronging several front line counters amid renewed optimism about the global economy.
Machinery, banking, automobile, non-ferrous metals, pharmaceuticals, retail and construction stocks moved up sharply and were mostly up with impressive gains at the end of the morning session.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index, which rose to 8,767 following a rousing start, was up 151 points or 1.8 percent at 8,720.3 when the morning session ended.
Among the Nikkei stocks, only Kansai Electric Power, Tokyo Electric Power, Odakyu Electric Railway, Keisei Electric Railway, Shizuoka Bank and NTT DoCoMo were trading in negative territory.
Ebara Corp, Mazda Motor, Pioneer Corp, Nippon Electric Glass, Furukawa Electric, Mitsumi Electric, Sony Corp, Resona Holdings, Sumitomo Chemical, JFE Holdings, Dai-ichi Life Insurance and Konica Minolta gained 4 to 6.5 percent.
Sumitomo Metal Industries, Japan Steel Works, Toho Zinc, Yokohama Rubber, Panasonic Corp, Sumitomo Metal Mining, Shinsei Bank, Fujifilm Holding, Pacific Metals, Nissan Motor and Inpex were all trading higher by over 3 percent.
Hino Motors, Sharp Corp, Credit Saison, Showa Shell, Suzuki Motor, GS Yuasa, Nomura Holdings, Advantest Corp and Dowa Holdings also posted sharp gains.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded in the lower 79 yen range in early deals in Tokyo. The yen is currently trading at 79.23 to the dollar.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Hong Kong, Indonesia, South Korea and Taiwan are trading notably higher, with their benchmark indices gaining between 1.2 and 2.2 percent. Shanghai, Malaysia and New Zealand are up with modest gains. Markets across the region ended on a firm note on Friday.
On Wall Street, stocks posted strong gains on Friday, amid optimism about the likelihood of further stimulus measures from the world's central banks.
The major averages ended the session near their best levels of the day. The Dow climbed 115.3 points or 0.9 percent to 12,767.2, the Nasdaq jumped 36.5 points or 1.3 percent to 2,872.8 and the S&P 500 surged up 13.7 points or 1 percent to 1,342.8.
Major European markets too moved higher on Friday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index edged up by 0.2 percent, the German DAX index and the French CAC 40 index jumped 1.5 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively.
U.S. crude oil futures settled higher on Friday, as investors weighed demand growth concerns amid rising hopes of further monetary stimulus by central banks after some soft economic data out of the U.S.
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Market Analysis
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.