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Asian markets open higher after gains on Wall Street ahead of Biden’s inauguration
President-elect Joe Biden, who will be sworn into office on Wednesday, last week laid out a US$1.9 trillion stimulus package proposal to boost the economy and speed up the distribution of vaccines.
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Investors talk in front of an electronic board showing stock information at a brokerage house in Shanghai on Oct. 15, 2018. (AFP/Johannes Eisele)
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sian stock markets opened higher on Wednesday after Wall Street indexes rose ahead of Joe Biden’s inauguration and on the back of United States Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen’s push for a sizable fiscal relief package in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’ve sort of seen a positivity evident last night in Wall Street already in Asian trade on Tuesday,” said Kyle Rodda, a markets analyst at IG Markets, who noted Asian markets are following US stimulus developments more than anything else, Reuters reported.
“The gains are modest,” he added.
Australia’s ASX 200 rose more than 0.5 percent in early trade Wednesday. MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe gained 0.03 percent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.51 percent while the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dipped 0.06 percent.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index advanced 0.50 percent to 28,776.10 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was up 0.09 percent.
"Japanese shares are seen gaining with support from rallies in the US market, but a wait-and-see attitude will increase ahead of the (US) presidential inauguration ceremony," Okasan Online Securities said in a commentary, AFP reported.
At Yellen’s confirmation hearing on Tuesday, she said the benefits of a big stimulus package are greater than the expenses of a higher debt burden.
President-elect Joe Biden, who will be sworn into office on Wednesday, last week laid out a US$1.9 trillion stimulus package proposal to boost the economy and speed up the distribution of vaccines.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.38 percent, while the S&P 500 gained 0.81 percent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 1.53 percent.
The dollar dropped for a second straight session on Tuesday with investors turning their focus to riskier assets.
US treasuries fell after Yellen said during her hearing that 2017 tax cuts for corporations should be rolled back.
Oil prices rose on Tuesday on hopes that Biden’s proposed stimulus will lift economic output, while gold also firmed.
