BEIJING — Asian stocks rose Monday after Wall Street rebounded from a seven-week string of declines and China eased anti-virus curbs on business activity in Shanghai and Beijing.
The Shanghai Composite Index SHCOMP advanced 0.3% after the Chinese government allowed more factories and shops in Beijing and Shanghai to reopen. Shanghai, the country’s commercial capital, announced tax breaks and subsidies to help businesses recover from a two-month shutdown. On Wall Street, the benchmark S&P 500 index finished Friday up 6.6% for its biggest weekly gain in 18 months after surging inflation declined in April. U.S. markets will be closed Monday for a holiday.
Investors were relieved after Commerce Department data showed U.S. inflation, which has prompted the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates, decelerated to 6.3% over a year earlier in April, its first decline in 17 months. The U.S. market has been in a slump for the past two months over fears about interest rate hikes that might slow economic activity, and the impact of Russia’s war on Ukraine and a Chinese economic slowdown.