Asia markets kick-start data-heavy week higher as China industrial profits rise

Asia-Pacific markets rose Monday as industrial profits in China rose during the first four months of the year, according to official data. China’s industrial profits rose 4.3% year on year in the January to April period, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed. Mainland China’s benchmark CSI 300 index climbed 0.21%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index added 0.4%. More economic data from China and India is also due later this week. The world’s second-largest economy will release its official purchasing managers’ index reading on Friday, while India will post its fiscal fourth-quarter gross domestic product numbers. Australia will also announce its inflation data for April on Wednesday, with analysts from ING expecting a “modest dip.” Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.22% and the broad-based Topix rose 0.3%, rebounding from Friday’s losses. South Korea’s Kospi was about 0.5% higher, while the small-cap Kosdaq was flat. The Australian S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.8%, on pace to snap a four-day losing streak. On Friday in the U.S., the Nasdaq Composite closed at a fresh record high as gains in chipmaker Nvidia outweighed worries that the Federal Reserve will delay interest rate cuts. The tech-heavy index advanced 1.1%, ending at 16,920.79. The S&P 500 rose 0.7%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.01%. U.S. markets will be closed for a holiday on Monday.