Asian shares mostly firmer, dollar loses early edge

Asian Stock Markets

Asian shares made guarded gains on Monday as investors braced for an event-packed week headlined by U.S. inflation data and the first House testimony by the new head of the Federal Reserve.

Spread betters also pointed to a stronger start for Europe and FTSE futures were already 0.5 percent higher.

But sentiment was fragile, with the dollar reversing its early rise and safe-haven bonds firming as E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 turned flat.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan crept up 0.6 percent, with most bourses in the green.

Japan’s Nikkei led with an increase of 1.3 percent, while Chinese blue chips added 0.7 percent.

China’s ruling Communist Party on Sunday set the stage for President Xi Jinping to stay in office indefinitely, with a proposal to remove a constitutional clause limiting presidential service to just two terms in office.

Investors initially took heart from Friday’s rally on Wall Street which saw the VIX volatility index end at 16.49 percent, far below the 50 percent peak touched at the height of market turmoil in early February.