Asia: Markets surge as investors stockpile equities during start of the month

Major indices within the Asian region witnessed a robust rise as June comes to a start, with the Nikkei in particular recording significant gains.

The Nikkei's rally caused the Japanese Yen to rise by 0.22% against the US Dollar to 111.02.

A number of key developments in the international realm could explain the surge in equities, as investors may be shoring up their assets in anticipation of risky outcomes.

Chris Weston, Market Analyst at IG Melbourne said, "There will be a reasonable amount of event risk to work through, not just with UK elections (8 June), but also with the ramifications of that event seemingly contained to UK assets."

"There is also the key central bank meetings from the European Central Bank (also 8 June) and Federal Reserve (14 June)."

Across the Atlantic, former FBI head James Comey may testify as early as next week, over allegations that US President Donald Trump pressured him to drop his investigation of the administration's ties with Russia.

The following stock quotes have been logged on 6:54 am BST:

Japan: Nikkei- Up by 1.04% to 19,854.65

The latest Nikkei survey revealed that the economy's PMI rose to 53.1 in May from 52.7 in April, indicating that the Japanese manufacturing sector is growing. Output and new orders grew at a robust pace.

Beleaguered electronics conglomerate Toshiba Corp (-1.83%) continued its volatility streak as it emerged as one of the index's weakest performers.

Hong Kong: Hang Seng- Up by 0.35% to 25,749.34

Cathay Pacific Airways (+2.81%), Li Ka-shing owned Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings (+1.49%), and internet giant Tencent Holdings (+1.20%) emerged as the index's strongest performers.

China: Shanghai Composite- Down by 0.51% to 3,101.368

Despite yesterday's positive PMI data, a separate report by Caixin estimated a PMI score of 49.6 in May, from 50.3 in April. The decrease below the benchmark figure of 50 indicates a contraction in the manufacturing sector, and fell short of expectations around 50.1. Tepid demand within the economy was mainly attributed to the decline.

Australia: S&P/ASX- Up by 0.16% to 5,734

Singapore: Straits Times Index- Up by 0.52% to 3,227.46

India: Sensex- Up by 0.07% to 31,166.10