(Bloomberg) — Asian shares turned higher, following a rally in heavyweight Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and gains in Chinese stocks on fresh signs of policy support.
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A key gauge of the region’s equities rose 0.2%, aided by Samsung Electronics’ jump after South Korea’s biggest firm announced a surprise stock buyback plan. Shares in Hong Kong and mainland China also advanced after the country’s securities regulator urged listed companies to boost returns on their stocks.
US futures edged higher, after the S&P 500 slid 1.3% on Friday to erase more than half of its gains following the US election.
The brighter mood in Korea and China helped offset weakness in neighboring markets like Japan and Taiwan, where concerns lingered about Donald Trump’s potentially inflationary economic policies and Friday’s upbeat US retail sales data that reduced expectations for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates.
“Another Fed cut is still likely in December but it’s now a close call,” Shane Oliver, chief economist at AMP Ltd. in Sydney, wrote in a note to clients. “A slower pace of easing is likely next year, particularly given that Trump’s policies regarding tariffs and more tax cuts provide some upside threats to inflation on a one-to-three year view.”
A dollar index was steady, while the yen slipped. Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said the timing of the central bank’s next policy adjustment will depend on the economy and prices, underscoring his data dependent stance and keeping his options open over when to next hike rates.
In corporate news, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is proposing to sell dollar and yuan bonds to pay back offshore debt and buy back shares, following the Chinese tech conglomerate’s issuance of a record convertible bond offering earlier this year.
As for commodities, oil rebounded after a weekly decline on concerns over plentiful supply and weaker demand from top crude importer China. Gold advanced after suffering its worst weekly drop since 2021, as the dollar eased and traders weighed the outlook for Fed rate cuts.
Elsewhere this week, China’s banks are expected to keep their loan prime rates unchanged after a cut in October. Bank Indonesia will deliver a policy decision as the rupiah neared 16,000 per dollar on Friday, a key psychological level for a central bank focused on currency stability.
