Stocks in Asia mostly rose Tuesday morning following an overnight surge on Wall Street amid hopes central banks would potentially take action to combat the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
Mainland Chinese stocks led gains among the region’s major markets, with the Shenzhen component up 2.3% while the Shenzhen composite gained 2.334%. The Shanghai composite was also up about 1.3%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index added 0.32%.
Elsewhere, however, the Nikkei 225 in Japan shed earlier gains to trade largely flat while the Topix slipped 0.19%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up about 1.6% as the sectors advanced, with shares of major banking names seeing gains.
Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded 0.88% higher.
The Reserve Bank of Australia is expected to announce its interest rate decision at 11:30 a.m. HK/SIN. Over in Malaysia, where the country was hit by a recent wave of political uncertainty that resulted in the unexpected appointment of a new prime minister, Bank Negara Malaysia is set to issue its monetary policy statement at 3:00 p.m. HK/SIN.
Investors will also await a conference call between global financial ministers and central bankers to coordinate the financial and economic response to the coronavirus.
The teleconference call will be led by U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and is expected to happen on Tuesday at 7 a.m. ET, according to CNBC’s Steve Liesman. Representatives of the Group of Seven industrialized nations will attend the call.
“Something is in the works,” Kathy Lien, managing director of foreign exchange strategy at BK Asset Management, wrote in a note dated Mar. 2. “Central bankers have promised to ensure stability and the rebound in stocks reflects the market’s expectations for coordinated action in the next few days or weeks at the latest.”
Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 1,293.96 points higher to close at 26,703.32 — its biggest move on a percentage basis since March 2009 and the 30-stock average’s largest-ever points gain. The S&P 500 jumped 4.6% — its best one-day performance since Dec. 26, 2018 — to end its trading day at 3,090.23. The Nasdaq Composite also had its best day since 2018, surging 4.5% to close at 8,952.16.
Investors were driven to safety last week amid fears over the economic impact of the coronavirus spreading rapidly outside of China, where the disease was first reported. More than 89,000 cases have been confirmed around the world so far along with at least 3,000 virus-related deaths.
Currencies and oil
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 97.587 after declining from levels around around 98 yesterday.
The Japanese yen strengthened to 108.07 per dollar after an earlier low of 108.53. The Australian dollar was at $0.6513 after touching highs above $0.655 yesterday.
Oil prices surged in the morning of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures up 2.54% to $53.22 per barrel while U.S. crude futures advanced 2.78% to $48.05 per barrel.
- Stocks in Asia mostly rose on Tuesday morning following an overnight surge on Wall Street
- The Reserve Bank of Australia is expected to announce its interest rate decision at 11:30 a.m. HK/SIN.
- Over in Malaysia, where the country was hit by a recent wave of political uncertainty that resulted in the unexpected appointment of a new prime minister, Bank Negara Malaysia is expected to issue its monetary policy statement at 3:00 p.m. HK/SIN.
Source CNBC