Asian stocks rose broadly on Monday after Federal Reserve Chairman nominee Janet Yellen backed a continuation of the Fed's $85 billion monthly asset purchase program and China pledged to undertake sweeping economic and social reforms over the next decade.
China's Shanghai Composite index rallied 2.9 percent to 2,197, its biggest single-day gain in 10 weeks, after China vowed to deepen reforms to allow its transition towards a consumption-driven economy. Unveiling a raft of reforms, China on Friday announced plans to allow more private investment in the state sector, build a more and impartial and sustainable social security system and let Chinese companies and individuals make investments offshore more easily. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 2.7 percent to 23,660, a nine-month high.
In economic releases, average new home prices in China's 70 major cities rose to another record high in October, data published by the National Bureau of Statistics showed. House prices in all Chinese cities except Wenzhou increased as the government abstained from initiating new property curbs.
Japanese shares ended largely unchanged after hitting a fresh six-month high early in the session supported by the yen's weakness, which hovered near two-month lows versus the dollar. The benchmark Nikkei average slipped 2 points or 0.01 percent to 15,164 after climbing nearly 8 percent last week. Exporters lost ground, with Tokyo Electron losing 1.3 percent and Kyocera declining 1.7 percent on profit taking after recent gains. Among heavyweights, Fanuc shed half a percent, while Fast Retailing edged up 0.3 percent and SoftBank added 0.4 percent.
Sony advanced 0.9 percent after announcing it had sold more than 1 million units of its new PlayStation 4 gaming console during the first 24 hours of sales in the U.S. and Canada. Financials also ended mostly higher, with Nomura Holdings and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group rising 1-2 percent. Dwango Co. shares soared 16.5 percent after Nintendo Co. bought 612,200 shares in the mobile content company.
Australian shares ended in the red, with gains in miners capping losses. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.3 percent to 5,385. Banks ended mostly lower, with Westpac, ANZ and Commonwealth falling between 0.4 percent and 0.6 percent, while NAB shares edged up 0.2 percent. Global miner BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto both rose around 0.2 percent each, while Fortescue Metals Group advanced 0.9 percent. Elders tumbled 4.2 percent on posting an annual loss of A$505 million due to charges related to a restructuring plan.
Leighton Holdings ended 0.2 percent lower after selling a commercial building in North Sydney for $413m to Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust. Downer EDI gained 1.8 percent on winning a contract worth A$500 million contract for mining services. Warrnambool Cheese and Butter rallied 2 percent after its board unanimously recommended the latest takeover offer from Canadian dairy giant Saputo.
Seoul shares rose to a two-week high, with automakers rallying on easing concerns about imminent tapering of the Fed's stimulus. Heavyweight Hyundai Motor rose 2 percent and its affiliate Hyundai Mobis added 1.2 percent. On the economic front, producer prices in South Korea dipped 0.4 percent in October compared to the previous month following the 0.1 percent decline in September, the Bank of Korea reported.
New Zealand shares bucked the regional uptrend to end on a subdued note. The benchmark NZX-50 dropped half a percent to 4,892, dragged down by Chorus shares after the network company withdrew its dividend guidance, citing regulatory uncertainty and the outcome of the government's independent review of its current financial position.
Chorus shares plunged 5.2 percent, while Sky Network Television and Fletcher Building fell around a percent each. In economic news, an index monitoring the services sectors in New Zealand came in with a score of 58.2 in October, up from 56.4 in September, the latest survey from Business NZ revealed.
Elsewhere, India's Sensex was rallying 1.8 percent, Indonesia's Jakarta Composite index was adding a percent, Malaysia's KLSE Composite was gaining 0.2 percent, Singapore's Straits Times was up marginally and the Taiwan Weighted average rose 0.2 percent.
Singapore's non-oil domestic exports increased 2.8 percent in October from a year earlier following the 1.2 percent decline in the previous month, data from the International Enterprise Singapore revealed.
Thailand's GDP growth eased unexpectedly to 2.7 percent in the third quarter, down from the revised 2.9 percent expansion logged a quarter ago, driven by a sharp decline in investment, data from the National Economic and Social Development Board showed.
U.S. stocks rose on Friday, with the Dow and the S&P 500 reaching fresh record highs, as investors digested downbeat reports on industrial production and manufacturing in the New York region as well as overtly dovish comments from the Fed's chairperson nominee Janet Yellen at the confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday. The Dow rose half a percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq edged up 0.3 percent and the S&P 500 added 0.4 percent.
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May 08, 2026 15:50 ET Manufacturing and services sector survey results and labor market data from main economies were the highlight on the economics news front this week. Factory orders and jobs report dominated the news flow in the U.S. Similarly, industrial production data from German garnered attention in Europe. In Asia, purchasing managers’ survey results from China and the central bank decision from Australia were in focus.