The trillions of dollars in fiscal and monetary stimulus delivered by governments and central banks globally continues to prop up stocks and other riskier investments, and MSCI's index of Asian shares ex-Japan was up around 0.4% in morning trade.
"As it is, Asia markets appear to have entered a phase of consolidation awaiting greater clarity on the trajectory for global growth amid the lingering Covid-19 impact." The Indonesian rupiah, the region's favourite interest rate carry trade, was again the worst currency performer following last week's cut in central bank rates and signals of more to come.
The South Korean won lost 0.2% against the greenback, in tandem with declines in its stock market as data showed exports contracted again in the first 20 days of June.