Wall Street closed out last week at records and the dollar slumped, setting the stage for Asia's Monday trading day.
U.S. stocks touched record levels on Friday after major banks, including J.P. Morgan and Wells Fargo, announced better-than-expected quarterly reports. Earnings season kicked off last week and is expected to be robust, with fourth-quarter S&P 500 profits forecast to increase 11.2 percent, according to UBS.
The Dow Jones industrial average advanced 0.89 percent, or 228.46 points, to close at a record high of 25,803.19, the S&P 500 tacked on 0.67 percent to finish at 2,786.24 and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.68 percent to close at 7,261.06.
Meanwhile, data released Friday showed U.S. consumer prices excluding food and energy rose 0.3 percent in December from the prior month, beating the 0.2 percent forecast in a Reuters poll. Retail sales for December rose 0.4 percent compared to the month before while November figures were adjusted upwards.
Despite the positive consumer price read, the dollar slid further on Friday. The dollar index, which tracks the dollar against a basket of six currencies, sank as low as 90.902, compared to levels around the 92 handle at which it had begun the week. At 6:52 a.m. HK/SIN, the dollar index stood at 90.904.
The euro advanced to its highest levels in around three years, last trading at $1.2203. The move higher came following news that German Chancellor Angela Merkel had made progress on the formation of a coalition government. It also followed the release of European Central Bank minutes earlier last week that had been interpreted as hawkish by markets.
