Asia stocks trade higher; Hong Kong democrats surge to election victory - CNBC

Shares in Asia traded higher Monday morning, as investors await market reaction to Hong Kong's district council elections amid months of civil unrest in the city.

The Nikkei 225 in Japan rose 0.79% in early trade, with shares of index heavyweights Fast Retailing, Softbank Group and Fanuc all seeing gains.

South Korea's Kospi also gained 0.93% as shares of industry heavyweight Samsung Electronics and chipmaker SK Hynix both gained more than 1% each.

Meanwhile, stocks in Australia edged higher in morning trade, as the S&P/ASX 200 gained about 0.6%.

Shares of Westpac, however, slipped around 1%. The embattled lender announced its response plan over the weekend after Australia's anti money-laundering and terrorism financing regulator last week filed for civil penalty orders against the firm, alleging its "oversight of the banking and designated services provided through its corresponding banking relationships was deficient."

Among the list of actions detailed in the response plan were the immediate closure of an international funds transfer system and bolstering its financial crime monitoring efforts.

Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded 0.27% higher.

Investors will watch for market reaction to district council elections in Hong Kong, after pro-democracy candidates surged to a landslide victory following a record voter turnout, Reuters reported.

That comes following months of civil unrest that have rocked the city and periodically degenerated into violence.

On the U.S.-China trade front, a "phase two" trade deal between the two economic powerhouses is unlikely to come soon, Reuters reported Monday citing officials, law makers and trade experts. That comes as Washington and Beijing have yet to strike a "phase one" agreement ahead of Dec. 15, when additional tariffs on Chinese exports to the U.S. are set to kick in.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 98.273 after rising from levels below 98.0 on Friday.

The Japanese yen traded at 108.71 against the dollar after seeing lows beyond 108.9 last week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6793 after declining from highs above $0.682 in the previous trading week.

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November 24, 2019 at 03:40PM
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Asia stocks trade higher; Hong Kong democrats surge to election victory - CNBC
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