Asian shares extend rally; S&P 500 within 1% of record

Asian shares extend rally; S&P 500 within 1% of record

SeattlePI.com

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Shares advanced in Asia on Tuesday, extending another rally that took the S&P 500 to within striking distance of its all-time high set in February.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 1.9% and Hong Kong gained more than 2%, even as the tally of confirmed new coronavirus cases worldwide topped 20 million, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The gains followed President Donald Trump’s announcement over the weekend of stopgap moves to aid the economy, after talks on Capitol Hill for a bigger rescue package faltered.

Sentiment got an extra boost from signals that the talks might resume, and by Trump's suggestion to reporters that he is planning a capital gains tax cut and a tax reduction also for “middle income" earners.

Despite the lack of fresh news to support the markets, “investors are happy to live with the mounting global infections as long as they do not trigger a new round of strict confinement measures," Ipek Ozkardeskaya, of Swissquote Bank said in a commentary.

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 2.5% to 24,947.40, while the Nikkei 225 climbed to 22,750.24. In South Korea, the Kospi picked up 1.4% to 2,420.54. Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 gianed 0.4% to 6,133.30, while the Shanghai Composite index gave up earlier gains, slipping 0.2% to 3,372.47.

India's Sensex gained 0.8% to 38,498.02. Shares rose in Taiwan but fell in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Overnight, the S&P 500 rose 0.3%, to 3,360.47, after wavering between small gains and losses. The benchmark index is now within 1% of its last record high.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.3% to 27,791.44. The Nasdaq composite lost 0.4%, to 10,968.36.

Trump signed executive orders over the weekend to extend an expired benefit for unemployed workers, among other things. The orders were more limited than...

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