Investing.com - Shares in Asia gained on Monday with Tokyo up after better than expected trade data and a weaker yen as investors looked ahead to a Bank of Japan policy review at the end of the week.
The Nikkei 225 gained 0.38% after the adjusted trade balance came in at a surplus of ¥33 billion, better than the ¥24 billion seen and imports eased 18.8%, less than the 19.7% drop expected and exports fell 7.4%, less than the 11.6% decline seen. The overall trade balance came in at a surplus of ¥693 billion, better than the ¥495 billion expected.
The S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.60%, while the Shanghai Composite gained 0.33%.
Last week, U.S. stocks re-entered record territory on Friday, completing their fourth straight week of positive gains, as strong performances by a pair of telecom giants, outweighed losses from General Electric (NYSE:NYSE:GE) following subdued quarterly earnings from the multinational conglomerate.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 53.62 or 0.29% to 18,570.85, while the S&P 500 Composite index added 9.86 or 0.46% to 2,175.03, as U.S. equities stayed on pace for their strongest month since March.
The indices have remained in record territory for the majority of the last two weeks, as signals of slowing growth in the euro area and Japan, as well as plunging global bond yields have sent investors fleeing to safety into stocks on Wall Street. The S&P 500 ended the week at its highest closing level on record.
The NASDAQ Composite index, meanwhile, rose by 26.26 or 0.52% to 5,100.16, moving approximately 2% from hitting a record-high.