ASIA MARKETS: Asian Markets Gain, Thanks To Tech Stocks And Commodities

Oil prices rise, Samsung shares hit record high

Tech stocks and stabilizing commodity prices helped stocks in Asia start the week on an up note amid a lack of major data releases or other market catalysts.

After notching a fifth straight weekly decline, oil prices rose steadily in Monday-morning trading, putting session gains at about 1%, with August Brent futures rising above $46 a barrel.

In Australia, oil-and-gas producer Santos (SSLTY) rose 1.7% while Japan's Inpex (1605.TO) gained 1.8%.

Stabilization in commodities is helping beaten-down Australian stocks, noted Michael McCarthy chief market strategist at CMC. The S&P/ASX 200 fell 1% last week amid weakness in commodity stocks, with Australian equities notably lagging others in the region.

The index ended 0.1% higher on Monday, while Japan's Nikkei also gaining that much.

Tech was also a tailwind Monday for Asian stocks. A pullback in U.S. giants this month has generated some concern. But the sector fared well to start this week.

Korea's Kospi rose 0.4%, led by a 1.4% gain for Samsung (005930.SE) as that company, which makes up one-quarter of the index, hit record highs.

Taiwan's tech-heavy Taiex index rose 1.3% to lead Asia and hit 27-year highs, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.8%. There, index heavyweight Tencent (0700.HK) added 1.4%.

Lagging, though, were a number of large financial stocks in the region. Amid fresh declines in Treasury yields, major Japanese life insurers including Dai-ichi (8750.TO) fell 0.9% and Resona (8308.TO) dropped 1.1%, while other large financial companies there also fell. Australia's big banks were also modestly underperforming.

Signs that interest rates would remain low continue to weigh on Japanese financials, said Hisao Matsuura, chief strategist for equities at Nomura Japan. The Bank of Japan's opinion summary on Monday said the best way to reach 2% inflation is to stick to current monetary policy.

That came as the Bank for International Settlements, a consortium of central banks, said Japanese banks are vulnerable because of their increased U.S.-dollar exposure. With dollar assets topping $3 trillion, those lenders could get hit with a funding gap; last decade's global financial crisis highlighted such risks.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 26, 2017 07:59 ET (11:59 GMT)