US markets are closed for the Presidents' Day holiday, but it hasn't prevented its pre-weekend gains giving a bullish tone to global equities. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ recovered from early weakness to close at new record levels before the weekend. Global equity markets are following suit today. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index eked out a small gain (0.05%). Japan's minor gain held back the regional index. Without, the MSCI benchmark would have risen nearly 0.2%. China's shares led the with the Shanghai Composite up 1.2%. China's shares that trade in Hong Kong continue to perform well, rising another 0.8% to bring the year-to-date gains to an 11.2%.
