SINGAPORE — Stocks in Australia led gains in Friday trade as Asia-Pacific markets rose.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 1.57% as shares of the country’s “Big Four” banks soared. Australia and New Zealand Banking Group surged 5.63%, Commonwealth Bank of Australia jumped 3.93%, Westpac soared 7.15% and National Australia Bank rose 6.86%.
The moves came after authorities announced changes to simplify credit access for consumers and small businesses.
“Our current regulatory framework with respect to lending is not fit for purpose,” Australian Treasurer, Josh Frydenburg, told reporters. “It’s become overly prescriptive, it’s become increasingly costly, it’s become increasingly complex and responsible lending has become restrictive lending.”
“We need our banks to be extending credit, we need the regulation to be streamlined, we need customers to be able to access credit,” Frydenburg said.
Elsewhere, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index advanced 0.55%. Mainland Chinese stocks were also higher, with the Shanghai composite above the flatline while the Shenzhen component gained 0.285%.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.69% while the Topix index added 0.59%. South Korea’s Kospi also advanced 0.58%.
Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded 0.67% higher.
Chinese yuan strengthens
Investors monitored Chinese assets after FTSE Russell announced Thursday that Chinese government bonds are scheduled to be included in the FTSE World Government Bond Index starting October 2021.
Following that announcement, the onshore Chinese yuan strengthened to 6.8125 per dollar, but it was still off levels below 6.78 against the greenback seen earlier this week. The offshore Chinese yuan changed hands at 6.817 per dollar, also weaker than levels below 6.8 seen earlier in the trading week.
Overnight on Wall Street, stocks eked out small gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 52.31 points higher, or 0.2%, at 26,815.44. The S&P 500 added 0.3% to finish its trading day at 3,246.59 while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.4% to close at 10,672.27. The moves stateside came in a wild session that saw the Dow down more than 200 points at its session low and up more than 300 points at one point.
Investors will also watch developments on potential U.S. coronavirus stimulus. House Democrats are preparing a new $2.4 trillion stimulus plan as the party looks to restart negotiations with the White House following talks that fell apart last month.
Currencies and oil
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 94.361 after rising from levels below 93 this week.
The Japanese yen traded at 105.47 per dollar, having weakened from levels below 104.4 against the greenback this week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7056, following this week’s slip from levels above $0.72.
Oil prices rose in the morning of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures up 0.1% to $41.98 per barrel. U.S. crude futures added 0.15% to $40.37 per barrel.
Correction: This article was updated to accurately reflect the movements of the Topix index in Japan.
Source: CNBC