Asian Stocks Gain, Dollar Rally Pauses As Traders Assess New US Treasury Secretary Pick

Stocks in the Asia-Pacific region advanced on Monday, and the dollar fell after US President-elect Donald Trump picked hedge fund executive Scott Bessent for the office of Treasury Secretary.

Equity benchmarks in Japan and South Korea led the gains during the session opening. The Nikkei was 394 points, or 1.03%, higher at 38,723, while the S&P ASX 200 was up 51 points, or 0.62%, at 8,446 as of 5:40 a.m.

Asian equities are on pace for their first back-to-back monthly losses this year, according to Bloomberg News. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback's performance against a basket of 10 leading global currencies, was trading 0.52% lower at 106.9. Bitcoin fell below $97,000 before paring losses, as the rally to landmark $100,000 mark fizzled. 

The dollar pared gains after it posted an eighth straight weekly advance, its longest winning run since September 2023, as traders continued to price in Trump's aggressive tariff plans.

Bessent, who was a partner at Soros Fund Management and runs macro hedge fund Key Square Group, was picked by Trump last week as the US Treasury Secretary and indicated he’ll back the President-elect's tariff and tax cut plans. Investors expect he will prioritise economic and market stability over scoring political points, Bloomberg News reported.

The week ahead will see a lot of key data that will set the trend for the global markets in the near-term. The US Fed is expected to release the FOMC meeting minutes on Tuesday while the US GDP data will be out on Wednesday. Japan’s inflation data and The Reserve Bank of New Zealand's rates decision will also be closely watched.

Developed countries have pledged to provide at least $300 billion annually by 2035, through various sources to confront rapidly warming temperatures, after the two-week COP29 summit.

Meanwhile, Wall Street ended last week with gains on hopes of new administration’s business-friendly stance. The S&P 500 index and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.35% and 0.16%, respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.97%.

Crude oil prices steadied after the escalated Russia-Ukraine conflict pushed the rates higher. The Brent crude was trading 0.05% higher at $75.21 a barrel as of 6:00 a.m. IST, and the West Texas Intermediate was up 0.04% at $71.27.