FILE PHOTO: An investor looks at an electronic board at a brokerage house in BeijingSYDNEY - Asian shares got the week off to a cautious start on Monday, with Chinese markets holding steady, as a spike in coronavirus cases across the region over the weekend hurt investor sentiment while oil hovered around 2-1/2 year highs.
Chinese shares were a touch higher with the CSI300 index up 0.2%. Data over the weekend showed profit growth at China's industrial firms slowed again in May as surging raw material prices squeezed margins and weighed on factory activity. The infrastructure plan is valued at $1.2 trillion over eight years, of which $579 billion is new spending.
On Friday, the S&P 500 rose 2.7% for the week, its strongest weekly gain since early February after data showed a measure of underlying inflation rose less than expected in May, easing fears of a sudden tapering in stimulus by the Federal Reserve.