Asian shares were mostly higher on Tuesday as investors found reason to be cautiously optimistic again about the potential for progress in the costly trade war between the US and China.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 1.2 per cent in morning trading to 20,497.09. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.3 per cent to 6,458.40, while South Korea’s Kospi gained nearly 1.0 per cent to 1,935.18.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose at first but reversed course and was down nearly 0.2 per cent at 25,635.96. The Shanghai Composite was up 1.1 per cent at 2,894.31, reports AP.
The S&P 500 rose 31.27 points, or 1.1 per cent, to 2,878.38. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 269.93 points, or 1.1 per cent, to 25,898.83.
The Nasdaq, which is heavily weighted with technology stocks, rose 101.97 points, or 1.3 per cent, to 7,853.74. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies picked up 16.52 points, or 1.1 per cent, to 1,476.
Benchmark crude oil rose 37 cents to $54.01 a barrel. It fell 53 cents to settle at $53.64 a barrel. Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 35 cents to $59.05 a barrel.
The dollar inched down to 105.78 Japanese yen from 105.88 yen on Monday. The euro weakened to $1.1104 from $1.1118.
