FX.co ★ Asian Shares Rise On Fed Rate Cut Hopes

Asian equities experienced widespread growth in limited trading on Monday, while Japanese and South Korean markets were shut for public holidays.

The U.S. dollar index fell as weak job growth data from Friday fostered anticipations of cuts in the Federal Reserve's rates.

Oil prices saw around a 1% increase in Asian markets as Saudi Arabia increased the price of its primary crude for the third month running for Asia. Furthermore, gold prices also grew after the Israeli Army announced the imminent ground invasion of eastern Rafah, advising Palestinians to start evacuating.

Mainland Chinese markets saw substantial growth following the release of a private survey, indicating a slight slowdown in the growth rate of China's services sector in April, however, it retained a confident growth status. Investors were also reassured after China's politburo pledged further economic support through prudent monetary and proactive fiscal policies.

Trading resumed following the May Day holidays with the benchmark Shanghai Composite index surging 1.16% to 3,140.72. Concurrently, the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong increased by 0.55% to 18,578.30.

Australian markets also surged, led by rate-sensitive financiers and property developers. Benchmark S&P ASX 200 climbed 0.70% to 7,682.40 ahead of Tuesday's policy meeting at the Reserve Bank of Australia. The broader All Ordinaries index finished 0.69% higher at 7,952.30.

Shares in Westpac rose by 2.7% after the bank boosted its buyback program and issued a special dividend. Airline Qantas also slightly advanced after settling a flight cancellation lawsuit.

However, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index trigged a 0.98% loss to 11,820.78.

U.S. stocks on Friday soared on accounts of impressive earnings results from Apple and an April jobs report weaker than anticipated, combined with an unexpected contraction in service sector activity in April, strengthened the argument for rate cuts by Q3.

Data revealed non-farm payroll employment increased by 175,000 jobs in April, following an upward revised surge of 315,000 jobs in March. The unemployment rate increased slightly to 3.9% from March's 3.8%. The Dow grew by 1.2%, the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite surged 2%, and the S&P 500 rallied by 1.3%.