Asia stocks gain following Wall Street’s surge

Asian shares gained on Monday in morning session after Wall Street touched record highs in the last session amid upbeat corporate earnings and strong global economic growth.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.19% in early trade and aiming for a 12th straight session of gains. It is up nearly 8% for the year so far.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.44% as most large caps advanced. Toyota added 0.04%, with most other automakers recording slight gains. Manufacturing company Fanuc surged 2.52% and Fast Retailing gained 0.63%. SoftBank traded flat.

South Korea’s benchmark Kospi index rose 1.05%, driven by solid gains in the technology sector. Samsung Electronics jumped 1.22% ahead of the announcement of its fourth-quarter results due later this week. Rival chipmaker SK Hynix advanced 1.46%.

Over in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.38% as markets resumed trade following a long weekend due to Australia Day last week. Gains were seen in most sectors apart from gold producers and real estate investment trusts.

Energy-related stocks and utilities were among the top-performing sectors in the morning, with Santos up 0.77% and Oil Search higher by 1.02%.

In Greater China, the Hang Seng Index gained 0.64%, while the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.25% in morning session.

China’s banking regulator issued fines on 12 banks amounting to 295 million yuan ($46.7 million), local media said on Saturday. The fines were issued due to illegal bill trading.

Meanwhile, shares of Hong Kong-listed Wynn Macau are in focus following a report detailing sexual misconduct from casino magnate Steve Wynn.