Recession, currencies, oil, Russian debt

SINGAPORE — Shares in the Asia-Pacific traded higher on Monday as investors assess inflation and recession fears.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped nearly 1% in early trade, while the Topix rose 0.94%.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.41%.

The Kospi in South Korea gained 0.91%, and the Kosdaq was 1.28% higher.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares rose 0.28%.

Russia defaulted on foreign-currency sovereign debt for the first time in more than 100 years, Bloomberg reported. The country’s central bank foreign reserves remain frozen.

In company news, Trip.com is set to report its first-quarter financial results on Monday in the U.S. after the market close.

Later this week, China and Japan will be reporting Purchasing Managers’ Index data, while Hong Kong will commemorate the 25th anniversary of its handover. China’s President Xi Jinping is expected to visit Hong Kong for the occasion, state media Xinhua reported over the weekend.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 103.980.

The Japanese yen traded at 135.09 per dollar, and the Australian dollar was at $0.6951.

Oil futures fell in Asia in early trade on Monday. U.S. crude dropped 1.25% to $106.27 per barrel, while international benchmark Brent crude slid 1.1% to $111.88 per barrel.