Asia markets rise as oil surges after surprise OPEC+ cut; investors digest factory data

Asia-Pacific markets largely rose on Monday as investors further digested key manufacturing data in the region. Brent crude futures and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) surged as much as 8% after OPEC+ members agreed to cut more than 1 million barrels per day to extend through the end of 2023. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.63% to end the day at 7,223, while in Japan, the Nikkei 225 was 0.5% higher to finish at 28,188.15 and the Topix rose 0.51% to close at 2,017.68. South Korea’s Kospi was down 0.22 to close at 2,472.34, while the Kosdad closed 0.88% up at 854.96. Mainland Chinese markets were also up, with the Shenzhen Component gaining 1.39% to finish at 11,889.42 and the Shanghai Composite rising 0.74% to end the day at 3,296.4. On the other hand, the Hang Seng index fell by 0.14%, while the Hang Seng Tech index saw a larger loss of 0.4%. Japan’s factory activity showed a softer contraction in five months. The manufacturing purchasing managers index rose to 49.2% for March, higher than February’s figure of 47.7%, based on a private survey. U.S. stocks on Friday rose Friday after the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge showed a cooler-than-expected increase in prices. The core personal consumption expenditures index, which excludes energy and food costs, rose 0.3% in February, less than the 0.4% expected. All three major US indexes closed higher, with the Nasdaq Composite leading gains at 1.74% up.