Asian stocks follow Wall St higher at start of holiday week

BEIJING (AP) — Asian stocks followed Wall Street higher Monday at the start of a week when China, South Korea and Southeast Asian markets will close for the Lunar New Year holiday.

Benchmarks in Tokyo and Hong Kong advanced while Sydney declined. Markets in mainland China, South Korea and Taiwan were closed. Hong Kong and Southeast Asia were due to close later in the week.

Wall Street's benchmark S&P 500 index rose 2.4% on Friday, breaking a three-week losing streak and giving major indexes their biggest gains this year.

Investors have been rattled by the Federal Reserve's decision to try to cool inflation by accelerating plans to raise interest rates and wind down bond purchases and other stimulus that is boosting stock prices.

“Prospects of rising rates and shrinking global liquidity compressed within a much shorter time-frame brings with it appreciable risks of unsettling markets,” Vishnu Varathan of Mizuho Bank said in a report.

The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo rose 1.2% to 27,028.84 after the government reported December retail sales fell 1% from the previous month's 2 1/2-year high. That was driven by a 4% fall in food purchases.

The Hang Seng gained 1.1% to 23,802.26 and Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 shed 0.2% to 6,971.60.

India's Sensex opened up 1.3% at 57,960.41. New Zealand and Southeast Asian markets gained.

On Friday, the S&P 500 rose to 4,431.85 for its biggest gain since June 2020. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.7% to 34,725.47. The Nasdaq composite jumped 3.1% to 13,770.57.

In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude gained $1.01 to $87.85 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 21 cents on Friday to $86.82. Brent crude, the price basis for international oils, added $1.01 to $89.53 per barrel in London. It advanced 69 cents the previous session to $90.03.

The dollar gained to 115.41 yen from Friday's 115.23 yen. The euro rose to $1.1166 from $1.1146.