Equity markets mostly on front foot, bitcoin rally stutters

HONG KONG, China — Most markets rose Monday following a record close on Wall Street as traders welcomed Donald Trump's pick for Treasury secretary, while bitcoin's push to $100,000 ran out of steam after coming within a whisker of the mark at the end of last week.

The gains came ahead of the release of key US data that could provide a fresh idea about the Federal Reserve's plans for interest rates amid expectations the next president's tax and tariffs plans will reignite inflation, tempering rate cut bets.

Investors are also keeping tabs on the Ukraine and Middle East conflicts, which have helped push oil prices higher in recent weeks.

Investors gave the thumbs-up to news that US president-elect Trump had chosen billionaire investor Scott Bessent to lead the Treasury, with optimism he will take a considered approach to the economy.

Bessent, CEO of hedge fund manager Key Square Group, has called for an extension of tax cuts from Trump's first term. He also wants to reassert American energy dominance and believes it is necessary to deal with the budget deficit.

Recently, he has called for tax reform and deregulation to spur growth and wrote in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece that this would be key to "restarting the American growth engine" and keeping prices in check.

This month, he called tariffs "a negotiating tool with our trading partners" in an opinion piece for Fox News, adding it was "a means to finally stand up for Americans".

While his views are seen as hawkish, markets started on a bright note.

"(Bessent) brings this sense of almost gradualism to the administration as opposed to taking a big bang approach to making big policy changes," Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management, told Bloomberg TV.

Markets may be relieved that the pick signals "an 'America First' kind of administration but not an 'America Exclusively' kind of administration", he added.

After a strong finish Friday on Wall Street -- where the Dow ended on a record -- Asian markets were broadly stronger.

Tokyo advanced more than one percent, even as the yen pushed up against the dollar, while Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Mumbai, Bangkok, Wellington, Manila and