The MSCI Asia Pacific equities gauge added 0.2%, though trading volumes were thinner than usual with Japanese markets shut for a public holiday. South Korea’s Kospi outperformed the region, climbing 0.83%, while Hang Seng futures slipped 0.2%, pointing to a softer open in Hong Kong.
In India, The GIFT Nifty index indicated a muted start as the country’s stock market could open in red in today’s trading session.
Japan’s markets are closed for an extended three-day stretch from September 21 to 23. Monday marked Respect for the Aged Day, a national holiday, followed by a bridging Citizen’s Holiday on Tuesday and Autumnal Equinox Day, another national holiday, on Wednesday.
Normal trading is due to resume on Thursday September 24, leaving regional liquidity thinner than usual for much of the week.
S&P 500 contracts gained 0.3% after the underlying index closed marginally higher on Friday September 18, while Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.4%, reflecting continued appetite for technology-heavy names.
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Traders seemed to attribute the upbeat mood to growing optimism over trade relations between Washington and Beijing as US and Chinese officials held talks in New York, with the negotiations led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng.
Bessent described the discussions, which covered both trade and artificial intelligence, as productive. Markets are now watching for the summit later in the week to confirm whether the two sides can build on that momentum according to a Bloomberg report.
Oil prices moved in the opposite direction, falling for a fourth consecutive day. Brent crude dropped 0.3% to trade near $103.50 a barrel before easing further to settle around $102.43. West Texas Intermediate mirrored the decline, shedding 0.5% to $99.79 a barrel.
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The pullback in crude came even as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz showed signs of recovery. Oil and liquefied natural gas cargoes moving through the waterway reached their highest level in six months over the preceding fortnight, a development US Central Command chief Admiral Brad Cooper linked to the success of American naval protection and mine-clearance operations.
Cooper said the strait’s main transit lanes were now clear of mines, and that Gulf allies had shipped more than a billion barrels of crude through the passage in recent months, describing the trend as building momentum.