Reuters - Asian stock markets rose Tuesday while gold flirted near five-month highs ahead of European and U.S. data this week that will likely offer clues on the health of the world economy.
The world's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic remains patchy with exports reviving but broader economic activity still cooled by new measures to contain fresh outbreaks.
China's factory activity expanded at the fastest pace this year in May as domestic and export demand picked up - though rises in raw material prices and strains in supply chains crimped some companies' production, a business survey showed Tuesday.
Taiwan and South Korea share indexes climbed in early trade while Japan, Australia and Hong Kong markets retreated, pushing up MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan by 0.3%.
South Korea's index jumped 0.8% and led regional gains after the country's exports logged their sharpest expansion in 32 years in May, marking another robust month of shipments fueled by stronger consumer demand worldwide.
The MSCI Asia index rose to the highest in a month, taking total gains made so far this year to nearly 7%. World equities have risen for a fourth straight month as ample liquidity supported risk taking despite worries of higher inflation.
U.S. stock futures were little changed after a holiday Monday and following Europe share markets ending below record highs.
While asset markets have rallied last month, officials are increasingly focused on tackling inflation at a time when the underlying structural economy has been struggling to gain traction.
"The fixation of the markets now is on inflation and rightly so because of so much of quantitative easing and supply chain disruptions," said Hou Wey Fook, chief investment officer at DBS Bank.
The main event of the week will be U.S. payrolls Friday with median forecasts at 650,000. But the outcome is uncertain following April's unexpectedly weak 266,000 gain.
Though U.S. inflation data last week was above estimates, another big miss on the jobs front would put pressure on the Federal Reserve to postpone plans to wind down its stimulus, analysts say.
The dollar languished near multimonth lows versus major peers as traders pondered the prospects for early policy normalisation by the Federal Reserve ahead of the jobs report. [USD/]
Up next, the Reserve Bank of Australia is widely expected to remain on hold and maintain a dovish bias at Tuesday's policy review.
Concerns about world inflation have supported gold, with prices for the yellow metal rising 8% this month, vaulting comfortably above $1,900. On Tuesday, gold prices traded near a five-month high seen last week.
Oil prices rose ahead of an OPEC+ meeting and on optimism that fuel demand will grow in the months ahead with the summer driving season starting in the United States, the world's top oil consumer.
Brent crude futures for August added 0.8% to $69.89 a barrel, while U.S. crude rose 1.57% to $67.3.
There was little action in cryptocurrencies, with Bitcoin steady around $37,000.
