Asian markets rose in early trading Tuesday, following sharp gains on Wall Street as the U.S. economy continued to slowly reopen and drug maker Moderna announced positive early results from a potential COVID-19 vaccine.
Japan’s Nikkei JP:NIK gained 1.9% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index HK:HSI jumped 1.8%. The Shanghai Composite CN:SHCOMP advanced 0.5% while the Shenzhen Composite CN:399106 rose 0.5%. South Korea’s Kospi KR:180721 surged 1.7%, and benchmark indexes in Taiwan TW:Y9999 , Singapore SG:STI , Malaysia MY:FBMKLCI and Indonesia ID:JAKIDX all gained. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 AU:XJO rose 1.9%.
In Tokyo trading, Nippon Steel JP:5401 surged while SoftBank JP:9984 fell after posting a massive fiscal-year loss. Link Real Estate Investment HK:823 and PetroChina HK:857 gained in Hong Kong. Samsung Electronics KR:005930 rose in South Korea, while BHP AU:BHP jumped in Australia.
Moderna Inc. US:MRNA shares soared 20% Monday after the company released “compelling” early data from a phase-one clinical trial for its experimental coronavirus vaccine, providing a jolt to markets.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average US:DJIA surged 911.95 points, or 3.9%, to finish at 24,597.37, its best daily gain in six weeks. The S&P 500 US:SPX rose 90.21 points, or 3.2%, to end at 2,953.91. The Nasdaq Composite US:COMP added 220.27 points, or 2.4%, closing at 9,234.83.
“Optimism around economies reopening and a coronavirus vaccine is driving higher equities, oil prices, and weaker USD,” Stephen Innes, chief global markets strategist at AxiCorp, wrote in a note. “Trade tensions remain a critical risk for markets, however,” he wrote, and “caution is warranted with financial markets increasingly decoupling from the real economy.”
West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery US:CLM20 was last above $32 a barrel. July Brent crude UK:BRNN20 , the global benchmark, was little changed.
The dollar US:USDJPY was up slightly at 107.40 yen..
