Asian shares, oil advance on recovery-driven sentiment

Asian shares and oil prices saw an upbeat performance on Monday. The series of gains could be attributed to investors’ enthusiasm over the prospect of a $1.9 trillion coronavirus package, with expectations that this will be legislated within the month just as COVID-19 vaccines are being rolled out across the globe.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.3% higher, rallying further after seeing a 730.16 record in January. Japan’s Nikkei recorded a 2% increase, while Australian shares advanced 0.8% on technology and mining shares.

Oil prices, on the other hand, reached their strongest level in a year. This was mainly from hopes that the global economy will recover faster than what was initially thought. More so, supply curbs implemented by OPEC and its allies greatly supported oil, with its current quotation now at $60 per barrel.