Japan markets set to rise as investors await Australian retail sales data; oil prices slump

Japan markets set to rise as investors await Australian retail sales data; oil prices slump

SINGAPORE — Stocks across Asia-Pacific rose, following a tumble in oil prices overnight. Bitcoin meanwhile surged past a key level, and the yen continued to weaken. Japan's was 0.45% higher in early trading, while the Topix rose 0.27%. Tech stocks were up, with rising 1.34% and up nearly 1%. Australia's  jumped 0.75%, as bank stocks rose. However, miners and oil stocks declined, bucking the trend. Economic data for the day ahead includes Australia's retail sales for February. arising from , diving more than 8%. Shanghai accounts for 4% of China's total oil consumption. Markets are fearing the outbreak could ultimately put under threat the 15.5 [million barrels per day] of oil the country consumes," said ANZ Research analysts Brian Martin and Daniel Hynes. Prices continued sliding in the morning of Asia trade, with  slipping 1% to $104.84, and  down 1.5% to $110.79 per barrel. Wall Street on Monday . The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 94.65 points or 0.27%. The S&P 500 climbed 0.7%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.31%. Currencies broke past the key level of $45,000 overnight and erased its losses for 2022, jumping as high as 6.7% to $47,914.35. It was last 5.44% higher