Asian markets higher; pound weakens as Brexit process kicks off

Asian markets were higher on Monday as investors mulled the possibility of a settlement between Deutsche Bank and the U.S. Department of Justice.

Meanwhile, the pound slipped after British Prime Minister Theresa May kick-started the Brexit process on Sunday. May said she wouldintroduce a repeal bill to revoke the 1972 European Communities Act in April or May 2017, overturning the law that allowed Britain to enter the European Union.

“This has essentially doused any hope of a second referendum for the U.K. to remain in the EU, and it has put a timeframe of six months for the U.K. government to prepare for negotiations,” Alex Wijaya, a senior trader at CMC Markets, said in a Monday note.

The pound weakened against the greenback to trade at $1.2927 at 2:26 pm HK/SIN on Monday, after touching lows of $1.2902, its weakest point since mid-August.

“[Brexit negotiations] are not going to be a smooth process. There is the perception that the Europeans are going to cave in and give Britain a very favorable trade deal…and that is simply false,” said Paul Krake, founder of View from the Peak, in a Street Signs interview.

Down Under, the ASX 200 closed up 0.78 percent, or 42.579 points, at 5,478.5, buoyed by its energy subindex, which climbed up 1.33 percent, and its heavily-weighted financials sector, which was up 1.17 percent.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 finished up 0.9 percent, or 148.83 points, at 16,598.67 even though the Bank of Japan’s closely watched business sentiment survey showed major manufacturers’ sentiment remained unchanged from the previous quarter.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was trading up 0.97 percent. Markets in Malaysia and South Korea are shut on Monday for public holidays, while mainland Chinese markets will be shut for Golden Week.

Indian shares gained despite India’s factory activity slowing in September as seen from the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) falling to 52.1 from August’s 52.6. The Nifty 50 index was up 1.03 percent and the Sensex was up 0.95 percent.

Source: Market Watch