Japan’s Nikkei surged 2.29% as USD/JPY rallied G20 officials indicated they will allow the yen to continue sliding as long as Japanese officials and policymakers do not make public statements to push the currency lower.
That opens the door for Japan to continue stimulating its economy, the world’s third-largest, and perhaps engage in asset-buying sooner-than-expected. Earlier this year, the Bank of Japan said it would engage in open-ended asset-buying, but the central bank disappointed markets by delaying the start of that effort until 2014.
Regarding BoJ, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is in the process of selecting a new governor to lead the central bank to replace Masaaki Shirakaw who steps down next month. Earlier today, at least one media outlet reported that Toshiro Muto is the leading candidate to be the next BoJ governor and that Abe could make an announcement to that effect as early as this week.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.37% while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.61% after being closed all of last week due to Chinese Lunar New Year festivities. The Shanghai Composite was boosted by reported that a record number of Chinese traveled during the Lunar New Year, helping lift travel and leisure shares.
Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.23% as the weaker yen is again seen as an issue for South Korean exporter to contend with. Additionally, a report released earlier today showed producer prices there fell by the most in three years. The won fell today, but surged 1.6% last week, the currency’s best weekly performance since late 2011.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index added 0.5% ahead of Tuesday’s release of minutes from Reserve Bank of Australia’s most recent meeting.
Meanwhile, New Zealand’s NZSE 50 climbed 0.40% while Singapore’s Straits Times Index was higher by 0.01%. S&P 500 futures are up 0.04%, but U.S. markets are close today for a public holiday.
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