Asian markets swing after gains but mood remains upbeat

Most Asian markets fluctuated Monday as investors took a step back after last week's rally, though the mood remains upbeat after the China-US trade pact was signed, while the global outlook appears a little rosier.

Focus now turns to the release of corporate earnings, with big US names including Netflix, IMB and Hyundai due to report over the coming days.

Friday's broadly healthy Chinese data provided some reassurance to traders, indicating a growth slowdown in the world's number two economy may have bottomed out, and suggesting could see some improvement.

"We are entering 2020 on a more stable footing with economies globally stabilising and looking like they're turning up, and the phase one trade deal," Anne Anderson, of UBS Asset Management, told Bloomberg TV. "So it's a bit more positive with regard to the economic fundamentals." The positive sentiment helped Wall Street to chalk up more records, though there are worries the upward momentum could slow and gains could trigger some profit-taking soon.

Still, traders remain upbeat and Tokyo ended the morning up 0.3 percent, while Shanghai and Sydney each gained 0.3 per

this year cent. Seoul piled on more than one percent while Taipei was also up.

But Hong Kong struggled to build on last week's advances and was slightly lower in the morning, with Singapore, Jakarta and Manila also in the red.

However, AxiTrader's Stephen Innes said the general outlook was for further rises. "There's a belief that global growth will continue to pick up speed over the coming months, as significant downside risks to the global economy have been turned aside, and worries over a possible recession have diminished, with the data giving credence to the possibility," he said in a note.

Oil prices rose more than one percent on supply concerns after exports from

Libya, which has been riven by fighting between rival factions since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising, were blocked after a pipeline was shut down by armed forces. And in Iraq, which is OPEC's second biggest producer, a strike at a key oil field hit output. There are also fears that long-simmering tensions could explode into major unrest, with matters not helped by the assassination in the country this month of Iran's top general.

Wall Street stocks again finished at records on Friday, capping a positive week of trade-related news and mostly solid corporate earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 0.2 percent at 29,348.10. The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.4 percent, closing at 3,329.62, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.3 percent to 9,388.94.

Construction of new US housing shot to a 13-year high last month, according to Commerce Department data that added to positive investor sentiment following the US-China trade deal signed earlier in the week and a round of banking earnings that mostly topped expectations.

US stocks had also finished at all-time highs Thursday. Analysts see few economic clouds on the horizon the short term but worry that high stock valuations could prompt a selloff. Among individual companies, Dow member Boeing dropped 2.4 percent after testing identified a fresh software issue with the company's 732 MAX, which remains grounded after two deadly crashes. The crisis over the MAX is expected to result in billions of dollars of additional costs in the upcoming earnings report, Wall Street analysts said Friday.

Retailer Gap fell 0.4 percent after it spiked an earlier plan to spin off its Old Navy chain. The struggling apparel company is still looking for a permanent chief executive after ousting the prior leader last fall. CSX fell 0.4 percent as it reported lower fourth-quarter earnings on softness in the coal market. But a day after breaching $1 trillion in market value for the first time, Google parent Alphabet moved higher still, advancing 2.0 percent.