Asian stock markets, with the exception of South Korea and Hong Kong, are higher on Monday amid optimism that U.S. President Donald Trump's tax reforms are moving closer to execution, while the Japanese market surged after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's landslide victory in Sunday's elections.
The Australian market is modestly higher following the positive cues from Wall Street.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is adding 7.20 points or 0.12 percent to 5,914.20, off a high of 5,925.30 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 7.80 points or 0.13 percent to 5,976.40.
Banking stocks are advancing. ANZ Banking, National Australia Bank, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac are higher in a range of 0.1 percent to 0.3 percent.
ANZ Banking has settled with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission on the first day of a federal court trial over alleged interest rate rigging.
In the mining space, Rio Tinto is adding 0.2 percent and Fortescue Metals is advancing almost 1 percent, while , BHP Billiton is losing 0.6 percent.
Oil stocks are mostly higher after crude oil prices rose Friday. Santos is adding 0.1 percent and Woodside Petroleum is rising 0.6 percent, while Oil Search is declining less than 0.1 percent.
Gold miners are weak after gold prices dropped to their lowest in two weeks on Friday. Newcrest Mining is declining 0.5 percent and Evolution Mining is losing almost 1 percent.
In the telecom sector, Telstra is advancing more than 1 percent.
Vocus Group said it aims to sell its New Zealand business by the end of June and has also appointed advisers for the sale of its Australian Data Centre assets. The telecom provider's shares are advancing 0.7 percent.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is lower against the U.S. dollar on Monday. In early trades, the local unit was trading at US$0.7813, down from US$0.7845 on Friday.
The Japanese market is rising and the yen fell to three-month lows against the U.S. dollar after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's landslide election victory on Sunday boosted optimism that his "Abenomics" growth strategy will continue.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is advancing 212.93 points or 0.99 percent to 21,670.57, off a high of 21,712.87 in early trades. On Friday, Japanese shares rose for the fourteenth straight session to post their longest winning streak since January 1961.
The major exporters are gaining on a weaker yen. Mitsubishi Electric and Panasonic are advancing almost 2 percent each, while Sony is rising more than 1 percent and Canon is up almost 1 percent.
Among automakers, Toyota is down 0.2 percent, while Honda is adding 1 percent. In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is rising almost 2 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui is adding more than 1 percent.
In the oil space, Inpex is rising more than 1 percent and Japan Petroleum is adding 0.5 percent.
Among the market's best performers, Sumitomo Chemical is rising more than 5 percent, Sumco Corp. is gaining more than 4 percent and Pacific Metals is advancing almost 4 percent.
On the flip side, Japan Steel Works is losing more than 2 percent, while Dentsu and Toho Co. are down more than 1 percent each.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the upper 113 yen-range on Monday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Shanghai, Singapore Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan are also higher, while South Korea and Hong Kong are lower. The markets in New Zealand and Thailand are closed on Monday for the Labor Day and Chulalongkorn Day holidays, respectively.
On Wall Street, stocks closed higher on Friday partly in reaction to news that Senate Republicans approved a budget resolution that will serve as the legislative vehicle for their tax reform plan. Positive sentiment was also generated by a report from the National Association of Realtors showing an unexpected rebound in existing home sales in the month of September.
The Dow advanced 165.59 points or 0.7 percent to 23,328.63, the Nasdaq rose 23.99 points or 0.4 percent to 6,629.04 and the S&P 500 climbed 13.11 points or 0.5 percent to 2,575.21.
The major European markets ended slightly higher on Friday, but well off their best levels. While the French CAC 40 Index crept up by 0.1 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index both closed just above the unchanged line.
Crude oil futures rose Friday after an industry report showed the U.S. rig count fell for a third consecutive week. November WTI crude added $0.18 or 0.4 percent to settle at $51.47 a barrel on expiration day.
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