Aussie stocks rally amid holiday-thinned markets

The Asian stock markets kicked-off the week on a firmer footing, taking the positive lead from the Wall Street on Friday, although liquidity conditions remained thin as the Japanese traders were on a holiday, observing the Coming-of-Age Day.

The Australian stocks rallied today, extending its winning streak so far this year, while markets now cheer upbeat Australian jobs data. Australia's building approvals (Nov) came at +7.0% m/m vs +4.5% exp and -12.6% last, while the yearly reading stood at -4.8%y/y vs -5.7% exp and -24.9% last.

While the Chinese stocks traded modestly higher, with investors still digesting weekend’s awful forex reserves data published by the PBOC. China’s foreign-exchange reserves fell for a sixth straight month, losing $ 320 billion last year.

The Australian benchmark, ASX 200 index rally +1.12% to 5,820 points. Mainland Chinese markets peeked into the green zone, with the Shanghai composite up +0.08%, while Shenzhen’s CSI 300 index gains +0.04%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng traded muted around 22,480.