US stocks posted a strong gain overnight boosted by better-than-expected home sales. Existing-home sales increased by 10.1 per cent to a 6.1 million annual rate, from 5.54 million in September, the National Association of Realtors said. The US dollar was weaker on Monday on expectations that the interest rate would remain at near zero.
Asian stock markets shrugged off the losses on Wall Street and mostly opened higher on Monday.
US stocks fell for the second day after a downgrade of technology companies such as Intel. Energy and materials shares also showed losses as commodities prices tumbled.
Wall Street closed slightly higher overnight on a round of buying in energy and materials companies. But more stocks fell than rose as retailers such as Target and Home Depot's disappointing holiday spending outlooks raised concerns over the strength of recovery.
Asian share markets broadly opened in positive territory. Japan's Nikkei was buoyed by the latest data showing that Japan's economy grew 1.2 per cent in July-September from the previous quarter, exceeding market expectations.
Asian stock markets were broadly lower Friday following the weakness in Wall Street. Chinese shares also fell on profit taking, but airline equities rose across the board on a new pricing mechanism of fuel surcharge to take effect this weekend.
US stocks overnight closed at a new high for the year as the G20 finance ministers and central bankers pledged to keep stimulus measures until a recovery was certain. Dow jumped more than 200 points for the session, with 29 of the index's 30 components finished in the green.
