Asia-Pacific shares rose as many markets were closed for Lunar New Year

Monday saw shares rise in Asia, but Shanghai markets were closed for the entire week due to the Lunar New Year holiday.

The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo gained 1.1% to 26,852.85, while the S&P/ASX 200 index in Sydney gained 0.1% to 7,456.90. The gains came after tech stocks rallied on Friday in response to concerns about the declining U.S. economy.

In electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, U.S. benchmark crude oil lost 35 cents to $81.29 per barrel in other trading. On Friday, it rose $1.03 to $81.64 per barrel.

The benchmark price for international trading, Brent crude, decreased by 40 cents to $87.23 per barrel.

From 129.59 yen, the US dollar dropped to 129.14 yen in Japan. From $1.0868, the euro rose to $1.0905.

The S&P 500 rose 1.9 percent to 3,972.61 on Friday. To 33,375.49, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1%. The Nasdaq climbed 2.7% to 11,140.43 at the close.

Stocks in small businesses also saw significant gains. The Russell 2000 index ended the day at 1,867.34, up 1.7 percent.

The benchmark index ended with its first weekly loss in three weeks despite the gains.

As investors cheered Netflix’s subscriber growth for a third consecutive quarter, technology and communication services stocks accounted for the majority of the gains.

The S&P 500’s rally on Friday was largely driven by gains for tech-oriented stocks.
Alphabet, the parent company of Google, stated that it was cutting costs by firing 12,000 employees. 5.3% more money was in its stock.

Netflix’s shares rose 8.5% as a result of an increase in subscribers.

The major indexes began the week in the red, largely as a result of concerns that the economy might not be able to avoid a devastating recession. As the full impact of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes last year begins to spread throughout the system, several economic reports have come in weaker than anticipated.

On Friday, Fed Governor Christopher Waller stated that when the central bank presents its next interest rate policy update on February 1, he favors only a quarter-point increase. Waller also asserted that interest rates are already sufficiently high to slow the economy. The remarks might have eased market concerns about rising rates.