Stocks in Asia Pacific soared in morning trade on Wednesday following dramatic gains overnight on Wall Street as investors await the announcement of an enormous stimulus deal by U.S. lawmakers.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan led gains among major markets in the region, adding 5.44% as shares of index heavyweight Fast Retailing gained 5.31%. The Topix index rose 5.28%.
South Korea’s Kospi also saw robust gains as it jumped 4.58% while the Kosdaq index added 4.12%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 3.3% in early trade.
Mainland Chinese stocks advanced, with the Shanghai composite up about 2% while the Shenzhen component rose 2.543%.
Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 jumped 3.23% as the sectors mostly traded higher, with the heavily weighted financial subindex gaining more than 5% as shares of major banks advanced.
Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded 3.32% higher.
Investors will await developments stateside, with U.S. lawmakers closing in on a massive fiscal stimulus bill worth $2 trillion to combat the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, though talks could stretch into Wednesday morning as the two parties continued to work through the text and hash out final details.
| TICKER | COMPANY | NAME | PRICE | CHANGE | %CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NIKKEI | Nikkei 225 Index | NIKKEI | 19052.70 | 960.35 | 5.31 |
| HSI | Hang Seng Index | HSI | 23137.69 | 474.20 | 2.09 |
| ASX 200 | S&P/ASX 200 | ASX 200 | 4811.50 | 75.80 | 1.60 |
| SHANGHAI | Shanghai | SHANGHAI | 2765.13 | 42.69 | 1.57 |
| KOSPI | KOSPI Index | KOSPI | 1678.12 | 68.15 | 4.23 |
| CNBC 100 | CNBC 100 ASIA IDX | CNBC 100 | 7068.55 | 201.90 | 2.94 |
Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged surged more than 11% to its best one-day percentage gain in 87 years, closing 2,112.98 points higher at 20,704.91. The S&P 500 rallied 9.4% to 2,447.33 for its best day since October 2008 while the Nasdaq Composite surged 8.1% to close at 7,417.86, its best day since March 13.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 101.641 after rising from levels below 100 last week.
The Japanese yen traded at 110.88 after touching an earlier low of 111.56. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.5965 after seeing levels below $0.58 earlier this week.
Oil prices were higher in the morning of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures adding 3.76% to $28.17 per barrel. U.S. crude futures also rose 4.25% to $25.03 per barrel.
Here’s a look at what’s on tap in the trading day ahead:
