Asia stocks rise; China's May trade data ahead

SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific looked set for a positive start to kick off a new trading week.

Futures pointed to a higher open for Japanese stocks. The Nikkei futures contract in Chicago was at 29,200 while its counterpart in Osaka was at 29,140. That compared against the Nikkei 225's last close at 28,941.52.

Australian stocks also looked set for a positive start. The SPI futures contract sat at 7,300, against the S&P/ASX 200's last close at 7,295.40.

Looking ahead, China's trade data for May is expected to be out at 11:00 a.m. HK/SIN on Monday.

In other developments, finance ministers from the Group of Seven over the weekend backed a U.S. proposal that calls for firms globally to pay at least 15% tax on earnings.

Markets in Malaysia and New Zealand are closed on Monday for holidays.

Currencies

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 90.159 following a recent decline from above 90.4.

The Japanese yen traded at 109.58 per dollar, after strengthening late last week from above 110.1 against the greenback. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7739, after climbing from levels below $0.768 late last week.

Here's a look at what's on tap:

• China: Trade data for May at 11:00 a.m. HK/SIN

Read More