Asia report: Markets rise as China holds loan prime rates

Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose on Monday, with mainland China extending its eight-month highs as investors awaited economic data from across the region.

China's central bank maintained its one- and five-year loan prime rates, following new measures to support the property market.

The five-year rate serves as a reference rate for housing mortgages.

“Asian equity markets are mostly higher to start the week, potentially lifted by hopes that Chinese authorities will soon announce additional economic stimulus,” said TickMill market analyst Patrick Munnelly.

“Although Chinese banks kept their long-term prime interest rates unchanged today, speculation is growing that an official signal of easier monetary policy could come in the next few weeks.

“Meanwhile, reports of the Iranian President's death in a helicopter crash today may lead to increased market speculation about Middle East stability.”

Markets in the green across the Asia-Pacific

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 climbed 0.73% to 39,069.68, while the Topix gained 0.82% to reach 2,768.04.

Leading the charge on Tokyo’s benchmark were Sumitomo Metal Mining, which surged 7.71%, Mitsubishi Materials up 7.01%, and Eneos Holdings advancing 6.21%.

China's Shanghai Composite increased by 0.54% to 3,171.14, and the Shenzhen Component rose 0.43% to 9,750.82.

Guangan and Changbai Mountain Tourism both saw impressive gains in Shanghai, each rising over 10%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged up 0.42% to 19,636.22, driven by strong performances from Li Ning Co, which jumped 7.27%, Zijin Mining Group up 4.92%, and Li Auto rising 4.17%.

South Korea's Kospi added 0.64%, closing at 2,742.14, with HMM climbing 8.47% and EcoPro Materials up 4.78%.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 increased by 0.63% to 7,863.70, led by Paladin Energy, which gained 7.57%, and Bellevue Gold, up 7.45%.

New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 inched up 0.31% to 11,735.71, as Stride Property surged 9.32%, and Restaurant Brands New Zealand advanced 5.63%.

In currency markets, the dollar was last 0.06% stronger on the yen, trading at JPY 155.74.

The greenback meanwhile remained unchanged against the Aussie at AUD 1.4941, while it advanced 0.24% on the Kiwi to change hands at NZD 1.6343.

Oil prices saw modest increases, with Brent crude futures last up 0.26% on ICE at $84.20 per barrel, and the NYMEX quote for West Texas Intermediate rising 0.1% to $80.14.

China holds loan prime rates, Thai economy grows more than expected

In economic news, China’s central bank maintained its one-year loan prime rate (LPR) at 3.45% and its five-year LPR at 3.95%.

The one-year LPR serves as the benchmark for most household and corporate loans, while the five-year rate is primarily used for property mortgages.

It aligned with predictions from a Reuters poll, which anticipated that both rates would remain unchanged.

The move also followed fresh measures from the world's second-largest economy to stimulate its property market, including reducing down payments and removing the floor on minimum mortgage interest rates.

Those initiatives led to a surge in real estate stocks on Friday.

In Thailand, the first quarter gross domestic product (GDP) grew 1.5% year-on-year, surpassing the 0.8% growth forecast by economists polled by Reuters.

It was, however, slightly below the 1.7% growth recorded in the fourth quarter of 2023.

On a seasonally-adjusted quarter-on-quarter basis, the Thai economy expanded 1.1%.

According to government data, that growth was driven by robust export of services, increased private consumption, and ongoing expansion in private investment.

Significant growth was seen in sectors such as accommodation, food service activities, transportation, and storage.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.