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Summary Benchmark oil rose remained above $107 per barrel while the dollar was slightly higher.
Asian stock markets inched higher Monday as good news about the US economy helped maintain enthusiasm for riskier assets while a weaker yen improved the outlook for some of Japans companies.Benchmark oil rose remained above $107 per barrel while the dollar was slightly higher against the euro and the yen. Further evidence from the US last week that its economic recovery is gaining strength continued to buoy stocks in Asia. The US is a crucial market for the regions exporters.The Dow Jones industrial average is up 8.3 percent this year, and the Nasdaq on Friday broke through 3,000 for the first time since the dot-com days more than a decade ago.On top of that, the debt maelstrom engulfing some of Europes economies appears to be easing. On Monday, Greece is expected to get an installment of an emergency international bailout to help keep the country afloat while it overhauls its economy.Global markets are, healthily enough, no longer obsessed with the minutiae of the eurozone sovereign debt crisis, Herve Goulletquer of Credit Agricole CIB wrote in an email.The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo continued its recent upward march, adding 0.3 percent to 10,156.59. The Nikkei has risen four sessions in a row and closed at a seven-month high Friday.Japanese stocks benefited as the yen continued its retreat from record highs against the dollar. A weaker currency helps Japanese firms sell goods abroad and raises the value of repatriated profits.Hong Kongs Hang Seng index gained 0.3 percent to 21,374.96 as investors awaited 2011 earnings from about a dozen blue chip companies this week. South Koreas Kospi rose 0.5 percent to 2,044.89 and Australias S&P ASX/200 climbed 0.5 percent to 4,297.40. CChinas Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.3 percent at 2,398.06.Falling home prices and weak trade in the first two months of 2012 kept Chinese investors verve in check. New home prices dropped in 45 cities in February, the official Xinhua News agency said, the result of government policies intended to cool property speculation.The Peoples Bank of China has already signaled that there is room to lower the level of reserves Chinese banks are required to hold a move that would free more money for lending to businesses and boost the slowing economy.After all this economic data, I strongly believe the central bank of China will have another cut on its reserve ratio requirement, said Dickie Wong, executive director for research at Kingston Securities Ltd. in Hong Kong.Rising oil prices dented the outlook for airlines, whose fortunes are closely linked to the cost of fuel.Taiwans EVA Airways fell 2.5 percent and Korean Air Lines Co. was down 2.4 percent. Benchmark oil for May delivery was up 24 cents to $107.30 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.95 to finish at $107.06 per barrel.The euro fell to $1.3166 from $1.3171 late Friday in New York. The dollar rose to 83.39 yen from 83.36 yen.
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