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Investing.com – Asia Pacific stocks were mostly up on Monday morning, but China Evergrande Group’s (HK:3333) debt woes continued to be a focal point as the week opens.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 edged up 0.18% by 9:58 PM ET (1:58 AM GMT), with the ruling coalition voting for a new leader, likely to be the next prime minister, on Wednesday.
South Korea’s KOSPI gained 0.65% and in Australia, the ASX 200 rose 0.89%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index jumped 1.13%.
China’s Shanghai Composite was up 0.23% while the Shenzhen Component edged down 0.20%. The country’s Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development tightened scrutiny of China Evergrande’s bank accounts to ensure funds are used to complete housing projects and not diverted to pay creditors.
Meanwhile, the developer’s electric-car unit, China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group, will not proceed with a proposed issue of CNY-denominated shares.
“Global fears around contagion from Evergrande have receded a bit but it’s too early to sound the all-clear. Shares remain vulnerable to short-term volatility,” AMP (OTC:AMLTF) Capital head of investment strategy and chief economist Shane Oliver said in a note.
China will also release its manufacturing, non-manufacturing and Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers indexes (PMIs) on Thursday.
In Germany, the results of Sunday’s election remain uncertain, but Olaf Scholz of the Social Democrats inched ahead of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union of Germany.
European Central Bank (EBC) President Christine Lagarde will speak on Tuesday, and will be joined by Bank of England (BOE) Governor Andrew Bailey, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda and U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell at an ECB forum panel a day later.
Powell will also be joined by U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to testify at a Senate Banking Committee hearing on Tuesday. The House Financial Services Committee hearing will follow on Thursday.
Ten-year Treasury yields climbed above 1.4%, breaking through the top of a range it has held since mid-July 2020 after the hawkish tone in the policy decisions handed down by both the Fed and BOE last week.
