Asian stocks advance, with Japanese benchmark rising after ruling party forms new coalition

BANGKOK (AP) — Asian markets jumped Monday after Wall Street ended a winning week, overcoming concerns about bank lending and the trade war with China.

U.S. futures rose slightly while oil prices fell.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index jumped 2.9% to 48,970.40, setting a new record high, after the ruling Liberal Democrats found a new coalition partner, securing support for their leader Sanae Takaichi to become the country’s first female prime minister.

Takaichi is expected to promote market-supporting policies such as low interest rates and increased government spending.

China reported its economy grew 4.8% annually last quarter, supported by relatively strong exports as companies increased shipments to markets outside the United States.

However, this is the slowest pace in a year. The world’s second-largest economy is still struggling to emerge from a prolonged slowdown in its property market and encourage consumers and businesses to spend more.

The leadership of China’s ruling Communist Party convened a meeting in Beijing on Monday that is expected to set policy goals for the next five years and also address personnel changes.

The results of this week’s closed-door meeting will likely emerge gradually and be formally approved during the annual session of the National Legislative Assembly in early March.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 2.5% to 25,884.81, while the Shanghai Composite index gained 0.7% to 3,866.77.

In South Korea, the Kospi jumped 1.3% to 3,796.64, setting a new record thanks to hopes of a trade deal with Washington and strong demand for semiconductors. SK Hynix gained 3.3% while automakers Kia Corp. rose 2.7% and Hyundai Motor Co. rose 2.5%.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.2% to 9,009.10.

U.S. stocks rose Friday after banks recouped some of their heavy losses from the day before.

The S&P 500 rose 0.5% to 6,664.01. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5% to 46,190.61 and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.5% to 22,679.97.

This was the best week for the S&P 500 since early August.

Some of the nervousness over trade tensions between the United States and China eased Friday after President Donald Trump said the sky-high tariffs he was threatening to impose on Chinese imports would not be sustainable.

Trump also told Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures” that he would meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at an upcoming conference in South Korea. This flies in the face of an angry message he posted earlier on social media, in which he said there appeared to be “no reason” for such a meeting.

Bank stocks, meanwhile, steadied Friday after several reported earnings for the latest quarter that were higher than analysts expected, including Truist Financial, Fifth Third Bancorp and Huntington Bancshares.