Asian stocks track Oil higher, Nikkei rallies on weaker yen

The Asian stocks markets were gripped by a renewed risk-on wave, with the regions’ indices erasing initial losses and swung into gains on the back of a rebound in oil prices and a weaker yen.

Nikkei gains on yen weakness

The Japanese benchmark index, the Nikkei 225 rallies 0.80% to 16,094 points, largely after the yen snapped a 2-day rally and slipped against its US counterpart on persisting risk-on sentiment, especially after the oil prices rebounded as Nigeria backed output freeze talks. Meanwhile, USD/JPY tested 113 handle and then retreated to 112.85, up 0.17%% so far.

The Australian markets bounced sharply on the back of the rebound in the commodities’ prices, with the ASX 200 index rising 0.82% to 4,991. The resource and energy stocks traded with size-able gains and led the advance in the index. The mining giants, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, both gained nearly 1%.

While the Chinese equities cheered the weekend’s ouster of China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) head Xiao Gang, in wake of January’s market rout, which rattled investors’ confidence completely. Among the indices, the Shanghai Composite rises 0.80%, Shenzhen’s CSI300 also trades 0.71% higher. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advances 1%.