- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Florida braces for Milton, FEMA head slams 'dangerous' Helene misinformation
- Postecoglou slams 'unacceptable' Spurs after 'terrible' loss at Brighton
- Marmoush double denies Bayern outright Bundesliga top spot
- Rallies worldwide call for Gaza, Lebanon ceasefire
- New 'Joker' film, a dark musical, tops N.America box office
- Man Utd stalemate keeps Ten Hag in danger, Spurs rocked by Brighton
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Vikings hold off Jets in London to stay unbeaten
- Ahead of attack anniversary, Netanyahu says: 'We will win'
- West Indies cruise to T20 World Cup win over Scotland
- Man Utd fire another blank in Aston Villa stalemate
- Lewandowski treble powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Russian activist killed on front line in Ukraine
- Openda strike briefly sends Leipzig top of Bundesliga
- Goal-shy Man Utd have to 'step up', says Ten Hag
- India bowl out Bangladesh for 127 in T20 opener
- Madueke rescues Chelsea in draw with 10-man Forest
- Beckett's belief rewarded as Bluestocking storms to Arc glory
- Trump on the stump, Harris hits airwaves in razor-edge US election
- Flash flooding kills three in northern Thailand
- Kaur leads India to victory over Pakistan in Women's T20 World Cup
- Juventus held by Cagliari after late penalty drama
- In France's Marseille, teen 'stabbed 50 times' then burned alive
- Ruthless Gauff beats Muchova in straight sets to win China Open
- India restrict Pakistan to 105-8 in Women's T20 World Cup
- England target repeat of Pakistan Test whitewash
- Penrith Panthers win fourth straight NRL title after downing Storm
- Weary Sinner happy for day off after battling into Shanghai last 16
- Pakistan's Masood warns England still a force without Stokes
- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
Equity markets extend Wall St rally as China eases curbs
Markets rose Monday as investors rediscovered some verve after the release of healthy US data and as China eases some of its strict Covid curbs in Shanghai and Beijing, lifting hopes for the world's number two economy.
The gains extended a positive end to last week for global equities with some commentators saying there was a growing hope that the months-long sell-off may have run its course.
Wall Street provided a strong lead and snapped a series of weekly losses, with Friday's rally supported by data showing an easing of the key personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index.
Markets have been pummelled this year as soaring prices -- caused by the Ukraine war, supply chain snags and China's lockdowns among other things -- forced central banks to hike interest rates and warn of more to come.
The US reading lent hope that the worst of the inflation surge may have passed and could allow the Federal Reserve to ease back from its hawkish rate hike drive later in the year.
May jobs data -- due for release on Friday -- should provide a fresh snapshot of the economy and possibly an idea about the Fed's next policy moves.
Asian investors followed the lead from their US counterparts.
Hong Kong put on more than two percent after a strong Friday performance fuelled by a rally in tech firms, while Tokyo, Sydney, Shanghai, Seoul, Mumbai, Taipei, Manila, Bangkok and Wellington were also well up.
London, Paris and Frankfurt all rallied at the open.
An easing of long-running lockdown measures in Shanghai provided a much-needed lift to sentiment, with China's biggest city seeing a drop in Covid cases, while some curbs were also being lifted in Beijing.
Officials have also announced measures to ease the impact on the world's number two economy, which has been hammered by the restrictions.
Still, OANDA's Jeffrey Halley said: "The devil is in the detail of course, and workers in both cities still face challenges either going to work, or even being allowed to leave the house."
He added that traders were also aware another flare-up could see the reimposition of tightened restrictions.
"Such minutiae are usually ignored by markets when it doesn't suit the preferred narrative, and so it is today. Asia is pricing in peak virus in China and a recovery in growth," he said.
The possibility that the measures could be gradually removed helped oil prices rise, with Brent topping $120 for the first time in two months as traders bet on a pick-up in demand.
That comes as European leaders are said to be edging towards a deal to impose sanctions on imports of crude from Russia in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine.
Still, while optimism is higher on trading floors at the moment, it remains at a premium with inflation still elevated and borrowing costs expected to rise further, while the war in Ukraine and China's still-struggling economy continue to drag.
"We are in the middle of a bear market rally," Mahjabeen Zaman, of Citigroup Australia, told Bloomberg Television. "I think the market is going to be trading range bound trying to figure out how soon is that recession coming or how quickly is inflation going down."
- Key figures at around 0720 GMT -
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 2.2 percent at 27,369.43 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 2.2 percent at 21,145.89
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.6 percent at 3,149.06 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 7,613.50
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0754 from $1.0739 on Friday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2644 from $1.2631
Euro/pound: UP at 85.05 pence from 84.99 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 127.11 yen from 127.09 yen
Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.5 percent at $120.03 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.7 percent at $115.91 per barrel
New York - Dow: UP 1.8 percent at 33,212.96 (close)
T.Resende--PC