In This Article:
* Asian stock markets : https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
* MSCI ex-Japan jumps to highest since Jan 2018
* E-Mini futures for S&P 500 jump more than 1.5%
* Markets trade on Biden win and Republican senate
* Oil prices top $40 a barrel
By Swati Pandey
SYDNEY, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Shares surged, oil prices jumped and the dollar stayed weak on Monday as expectations of fewer regulatory changes and more monetary stimulus under U.S. president-elect Joe Biden supported risk appetite.
The Democratic candidate's victory at the U.S. Presidential election was largely priced-in by markets, which had been trading with the view of a Biden presidency and a Republican-controlled U.S. Senate since last week.
E-mini futures for the S&P 500 jumped more than 1.5% on Monday while Nasdaq futures rallied over 2%, signalling a positive start for U.S. markets.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside of Japan jumped 1.3% to 613.95 points, the highest since January 2018. It had climbed 6.2% last week to clock its best weekly performance since early June.
"While lots of attention was given to Trump vs Biden, markets have reacted strongly to the (likely) split congress, which means more confidence that interest rates will be lower for longer," said Dave Wang, portfolio manager at Nuveen Capital in Singapore.
"The best opportunities now lie within segments of emerging markets, in particular China and North Asia. I believe earnings momentum and valuation put China in a very attractive risk/reward position."
Chinese shares started higher with the blue-chip CSI300 index up 1% on hopes of better Sino-U.S. trade relations under Biden.
Japan rose 2% while the main indexes of Australia , Hong Kong and South Korea gained 1.7% each.
Equities rallied hard last week, with the S&P500 up 7.3%, clocking the best gains in an election week since 1932, according to National Australia Bank analyst Tapas Strickland.
Matt Sherwood of Australian fund manager Perpetual, however, said Biden's victory did not necessarily warrant a tweaking of his portfolio.
"In the end, we think the U.S. economy is still fairly fragile and growth's slowing down," Sherwood said.
"You could potentially gravitate your portfolio more towards higher-beta type markets, such as emerging markets, and there is potential for better prospects in the energy space than would have been the case with a Democrat clean sweep."
Oil prices jumped on Monday as investors cheered Biden's victory, shrugging off worries about lacklustre demand amid rising global coronavirus cases.