Asian shares hit two-year highs on China property measures

Asian stocks reached two-year highs on Monday, driven by China’s decisive actions to address its property crisis and anticipation of global interest rate cuts, as reported by Reuters. The US dollar stabilised after a recent decline.

Early trading saw Japan’s Nikkei index climb 0.9 per cent, and Hang Seng futures pointed towards gains. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan also rose 0.25 per cent, reaching a two-year peak with early advances in Australia and South Korea.

Global stocks reached record highs last week due to easing US inflation. This week, attention will turn to central bank announcements, meeting minutes, New Zealand’s central bank decision, and Nvidia’s earnings report, with fewer economic data releases.

US Treasury yields showed cautious optimism last week. Two-year yields closed at 4.825 per cent, remaining steady in Asian trade.

Ten-year yields ended the week at 4.42 per cent, down 8.4 basis points. In contrast, two-year German bund yields rose slightly by two basis points to 2.988 per cent.

Brent crude futures reached a one-week high of $84.14 a barrel in early trading, as the crash of a helicopter carrying Iran’s president in heavy fog highlighted concerns in the Middle East. Gold remained near a record high at $2,423 per ounce.

China, the world’s top consumer of gold and industrial metals, has unveiled measures to support its ailing property sector. The country has allocated $42.25 billion to state-owned enterprises to purchase unsold apartments, aiming to assist developers in finishing pre-sold projects.