Hong Kong stocks rise 2%, leads gains in Asia as investors digest private surveys on factory activity

The Monetary Authority of Singapore named Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong as Chairman of its Board of Directors effective July 8.

Wong is also the country's finance minister, and will replace Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who held the role for 12 years since May 2011. Shanmugaratnam will step down on Jul 8, the release said.

Singapore's Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong will be appointed Deputy Chairman of the MAS Board.

— Jihye Lee

Gurmeet Chadha of Complete Circle discusses the merger between HDFC and HDFC Bank, and says HDFC Bank is clocking in 15% to 16% of credit growth.

Private surveys for factory activity in ASEAN countries showed an mixed picture in Southeast Asian markets.

The S&P Global ASEAN Manufacturing purchasing managers' index saw conditions for the manufacturing sector improve mildly in June, posting a 51 reading, lower than 51.1 seen a month ago.

"The region continues to fair well despite the post-COVID boom subsiding," Maryam Baluch, Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence said, adding that lingering global economic uncertainty and rate hikes "worldwide map a challenging road ahead."

Indonesia's manufacturing PMI expanded to 52.5 in June from 50.3 in May.

Thailand's manufacturing output also remained in expansion territory, with its PMI reading at 53.2 in June — a slowed growth from a reading of 58.2 a month ago.

Meanwhile in Vietnam, its factory activity remained in contraction territory for the fourth straight month at 46.2, the private survey showed, slightly up from 45.3 in the previous month.

In the Philippines, manufacturing firms saw a fractional rise in output amid softer expansion in new orders, marking the weakest output growth in 10 months.

Its PMI reading came in at 50.9 in June, lower than the previous reading of 52.2.

— Jihye Lee

The Nikkei could hit 40,000 in the next year thanks to fundamentals that "point in the right direction," rebound in business confidence and supportive fiscal policy, says Jesper Koll of Monex Group.

China's factory activity grew at a slower rate in June, according a private survey by Caixin/S&P Global.

The country's manufacturing purchasing managers' index fell to 50.5 in June, down from 50.9 in May, but slightly higher than the 50.2 expected by economists polled by Reuters.

China's National Bureau of Statistics reported last week that the country's official manufacturing PMI was at 49.0 in June — compared with 48.8 in May.

— Lim Hui Jie, Clement Tan

Sentiment among Japan's businesses improved in the second quarter, according to the Bank of Japan's quarterly Tankan survey.

The headline index, measuring big manufacturers' mood stood at +5 in June, rebounding from a +1 reading in the first quarter, and also higher than the +3 expected by economists polled by Reuters.

The sentiment index for large non-manufacturers climbed slightly to +23, up from +22 in March and hit its highest level since June 2019.

A positive reading on the Tankan indicates improving business sentiment in the sector, while a negative reading indicates the opposite.

— Lim Hui Jie

South Korea's factory activity remained in contraction territory for the twelfth straight month, according to a private survey by S&P Global.

The country's manufacturing purchasing managers index fell to 47.8 in June, down from 48.4 in May. South Korea last recorded an expansion in June 2022, with a reading of 51.3.

A PMI reading of above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below 50 indicates contraction.

— Lim Hui Jie

Private surveys on factory activity will be closely watched in the Asia-Pacific market this week, alongside a central bank rate decision in Australia.

The S&P Global manufacturing purchasing managers' index from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and India's manufacturing purchasing managers index reading will be closely watched. Releases from ASEAN countries including Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia will also be published.

The U.S. stock markets will close early on Monday ahead of the Independence Day holiday observed on Tuesday.

The Reserve Bank of Australia's interest rate decision is scheduled for Tuesday, with economists polled by Reuters expecting to see a 25 basis point hike.

South Korea's consumer price index for June will be released this week as the economy continues to see its inflation levels inch closer to the central bank's target of 2%.

On Wednesday, investors will be closely looking through minutes from the June Federal Open Market Committee meeting for clues on the Fed's steps ahead.

May retail sales data for Australia and Singapore will be published alongside June inflation prints for Thailand and the Philippines on this day.

Australia's trade surplus for the month of May for goods and services will likely show a continued decline for the second straight month on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters are expecting a surplus of A$10.5 billion ($7 billion) after falling to A$11.16 billion in April.

Malaysia's central bank will deliver its rate decision on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters expect the central bank to hold its rates after it raised its benchmark rate by 25 basis points in May.

The week will end with South Korea's current account reports and Japan's household spending as waning global demand remains a top concern for the region.

— Jihye Lee

It's time for investors to consider getting back into one key international market, Koul, who is vice president of Asia Pacific portfolio strategy at the investment bank, told CNBC's "Street Signs Asia" on Friday.

"The amount of interest we are seeing, especially from global investors, is off the charts," he said.

Koul explains why it's time, and shares the stocks to consider.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

Global stocks rose by more than 12% in the first half of this year and outperformed historical averages, according to a CNBC Pro analysis.

With investors bagging stellar returns already, CNBC Pro examines whether there is room for growth in the second half of the year.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Ganesh Rao

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will meet with senior Chinese officials this week in Beijing.

The Treasury said Yellen will discuss "how the U.S. and China can "responsibly manage our relationship, communicate directly about areas of concern, and work together to address global challenges."

The department said it would provide further details on her trip at a later date.

— Christine Wang

The latest inflation data showed prices cool in May, according to a Commerce Department report released Friday.

The personal consumption expenditures price index increased 0.3% for the month when excluding food and energy, in line with the Dow Jones estimate. That's also below the 0.4% increase see in April.

On a year over year basis, the closely watched number by the Federal Reserve increased 4.6% from a year ago, below the 4.7% expected by economists.

When including the volatile food and energy components, inflation was considerably softer — up just 0.1% on the month and 3.8% from a year ago. Those were down respectively from the 0.4% and 4.3% increases reported for April.

— Jeff Cox, Samantha Subin

Consumer confidence accelerated in June while inflation expectations hit their lowest in more than two years, according to the closely watched University of Michigan sentiment survey released Friday.

The headline index rose to 64.4 for the month, up from 59.2 in May and better than the 63.9 Dow Jones estimate.

At the same time, the expected outlook for inflation a year from now plunged to 3.3%, down from 4.2% and good for the lowest reading since March 2021.

— Jeff Cox

Stocks closed higher on Friday, with all the major average notching gains for the week, month, quarter and first half of the year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 285.18 points, or 0.84%, to close at 34,407.60. The S&P 500 climbed 1.23% to end at 4,450.38, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.45% to settle at 13,787.92.

The Nasdaq closed out its best start to the year since 1983. The S&P posted its best first half since 2019.

— Samantha Subin